Come What May
by Kuma the wolf alchemist
Summary: AU, Modern. Sakura is happily married to Naruto, a high school teacher, but when the past comes creeping back with some surprises she begins to reevaluate her relationship and wonder if she is truly happy. NaruSaku past!SasuSaku
1. Chapter 1: Before the Worst

Description: AU, Modern. Sakura is happily married to Naruto, a high school teacher, but when the past comes creeping back with some surprises she begins to reevaluate her relationship and wonder if she is truly happy.

Parings: NarutoXSakuraXSasuke, OCs present, cannon characters

Warning/Disclaimer: No...I don't own Naruto. Rated T for cursing and sexual situations (though there will be no lemons). Possible OOC-ness but not much.

* * *

Come What May

[Before the Worst]

"We were sitting with our backs against the world  
Saying things that we thought would never hurt.  
Who would have thought it would end up like this?"

~Before the Worst by The Script

* * *

"Mrs. Uzumaki!"  
Sakura swiveled in her chair to face the child crying her name. "What is it sweetie?"

The small boy, at least in first grade, held out his hand where blood dripped from his finger. Tears slipped down his pale cheeks and he stepped closer to the pink-haired nurse. "Mrs. Uzumaki, I have an owie!"

Sakura smiled down at the boy, already up and moving to get the necessary items to stop the bleeding. "I see that. Let's get you cleaned up."

Within minutes the bleeding at stopped and the boy was smiling with a piece of candy in his hands. "Thank you!"

Sakura Uzumaki was the Konoha West Elementary school part-time nurse. She loved her job dearly, especially the children. She was a happy, newly married young woman who had aspirations for the future. She couldn't ask for any more.

"Sakura you can head out now if you want," Her co-worker, Hinata Hyuuga said in her usual soft voice. "Don't you need to head to the hospital?"

"Not for a while," Sakura replied, looking at her wrist watch. "I should head out to get some lunch now though. I've got a long shift ahead of me."

After saying a round of goodbyes to her coworkers she hit the busy streets of Konoha and hailed a taxi to take her to the hospital. The city was massive with its various neighborhoods and districts; it was easy to get lost in the hype. It was a beautiful city though and a wonderful place to be despite being a major city- Sakura couldn't think of anywhere else to live.

After eating lunch in the hospital's cafeteria, Sakura changed into her blue scrubs and clocked in- mentally preparing herself for whatever she would face over the next six hours. As much as she loved her job she couldn't wait to go home and see her husband who would probably be half-asleep on the couch waiting for her to come home. The feeling intensified when as soon as she got to her post in the pediatric unit she was almost attacked by her coworker.

"Got a patient for you," The young doctor shot off. Sakura could tell the poor woman had a long day from the dark circles that were starting to form under eyes. "Room 6. I have a surgery to get to. All you need to do is keep watch over her until she gets discharged later today."

Sakura gave her a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, I can handle everything Rin."

Rin gave her a thankful look before darting off to head across the hospital. Sakura looked at the file that had been shoved in her hand as she headed the few feet it took to get to room 6. "Let's see we have…Akane Uchiha."

In that moment Sakura felt the world stop- face flushing from anxiety and fear. Uchiha was not a common last name. _There's no way it could be Sasuke…no way. Itachi maybe? _She thought, as she numbly scooted her feet to the room. She knocked before sliding open the door, trying to keep herself steady. The room only held a girl no older than five, her onyx eyes looking at her curiously- wavy brown hair held in two messy pigtails. It didn't take much scanning to see what was wrong with the child; her right foot was bound tight in a white cast.

"Hi Akane, how are you feeling?" Sakura asked, plastering a smile on her face. She needed to focus on the child- not who could possibly be her parent. "I'm Sakura."

"I'm okay," Akane shrugged, scratching at the skin above the edge of her cast. "Just really itchy."

"I'll get you some ointment." Sakura reached into a drawer and moved to place the cool cream onto the child's skin. "How did you break your foot?"

"I was playing soldier in my backyard with my friend," She replied in her childish voice. "I climbed a tree _alll _the way up," she held her hand above her head to signify the height of the tree. "But I didn't know how to come down so I jumped."

"Akane," Sakura said with slight sternness. "You can't climb a tree that high then jump!"

"I know," She drawled out. "Daddy got really mad."

"Where is your daddy?"

"He went to try to find me food that didn't suck."

As if on cue, the door slid open and Sakura could feel her stomach tighten. Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke freaking Uchiha was in her hospital with his child and looking just as good as he did five years ago. Sakura felt like she had been staring at the man in the entrance for hours though it was only a mere few seconds. It was Sasuke who broke the silence first surprisingly.

"Sakura Haruno," He stated simply, moving further in the room to set a plate of food on the table next to the hospital bed. Sakura's head began to swim from his sudden closeness, but she kept her cool.

"Sakura _Uzumaki_," She replied proudly.

Sasuke paused for a moment, but much to her disappointment, no real reaction played on his face. He simply made a noncommittal sound and motioned for his daughter to eat. "Wasn't he the loud mouth cousin of your roommate? He was the _Education major _wasn't he?"

Sakura bristled as the way he said her husband's profession as if he was looking down upon his job. _So what if he isn't a lawyer like you, _she thought defensively. _He loves his job and I'm proud of him._ "Yes, and he also serves our country."

Naruto was a patriotic man and felt it was his duty to help protect his country. During his college years he joined the Fire Country Reserves- FCR- and began training as a back of soldier of sorts.

Akane suddenly jumped into the conversation, exclaiming: "He's a soldier?"

Sakura brought her attention to the small girl, turning the scowl that was beginning to form on her face to a smile. "Yes, he is."

Her eyes lit up as she looked at her father. "He's like uncle Itachi!"

Sakura saw Sasuke's eyes soften as he looked as his daughter and a rare half smile graced his usually cold features. "Yes Akane, just like uncle Itachi."

Questions began to race through Sakura's mind: who was the mother? When did Sasuke meet this woman? Was it right after her or during the time they were in a relationship? Why did she care so much?

To keep more questions for forming in her head she began to take her leave. Asking the girl if she needed anything else. "I'll be back before you get discharged to make sure you don't need any more cream, okay?"

"Okay Miss. Sakura," Akane beamed. Sakura turned to walk out the door and as she did she could hear the girl say, "Daddy Miss. Sakura is really nice! The other nurse didn't seem to want to spend that much time with me."

She didn't hear Sasuke's response which was okay with her because she didn't want to. After fighting to keep the man out of her head he had the audacity to show his face. Though the rational part of her mind knew it wasn't his intention for this run-in to happen, she couldn't help but wonder how his life was now. She inwardly sighed and pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind to focus on checking up on the other children in the unit.

* * *

By the end of her shift Sakura was exhausted and wanted to crawl into bed, however she had one last thing to do. She slid open the door to room 6 and found Akane watching cartoons while Sasuke sat with his laptop in his lap, most likely working on a brief for an upcoming lawsuit.

"Miss. Sakura," The child grinned. "Can I go home now?"

Sakura couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her face- the girl's bubby personality was infections. "Yes sweetie you can go home now. Do you need more ointment?"

She shook her head. "Nope!"

"Alright, I'll send some home with you though."

It took both Sakura and Sasuke to dress Akane because slight movements bothered her foot and small cuts on her arms and legs from the fall. She whined and struggled, but Sakura coxed her into a somewhat calm state. Sakura also knew the child was tired and just wanted to go home.

"Akane sit still," Sasuke admonished, sending his daughter a warning look. Sakura couldn't help, but notice how well he handled his daughter. Even when Sasuke was in a good mood he could still be harsh and cold, but with Akane he was a different man.

"Don't go climbing anymore trees okay?" Sakura said as she wheeled the girl to the entrance.

"I won't Miss. Sakura," Akane with a sleepy smile. When Sasuke picked her up carefully she looked over his shoulder and waved. "Bye!"

Sakura waved back, watching the two walk away from the hospital. With a sigh she headed back to where Akane was roomed and began to clean it up. Upon, wiping down a table she found a scrap of paper with a neatly written phone number and a note that said: "call if you want". She shoved the paper in her pocket and for the next hour and a half until she finally made it home to her two bedroom apartment it burned a hole in her pocket. Should she call? She really had no reason to, though she could use it to check up on Akane.

"I'm home!" She called, taking her shoes off.

Her husband looked up from grading papers at the kitchen table to smile at her- the very smile she fell in love with. His blue eyes shined with happiness when he saw her and it made her feel wanted and loved. "I missed you!"

She moved across the small apartment to the where he sat and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "I missed you too." She glanced down at the tests he was grading. Naruto was a history teacher for Konoha High. The teenagers loved him because of his childishness and overall friendly personality. She had the opportunity to watch him teach one day and could see just how much the students admired him. "How are the kids doing?"

"All of them are passing," He shined with pride. "Each person in my classes has a C or better."

For a huge school in the middle of a busy city to have so many students passing classes- even if its one- was amazing. "That's amazing Naruto!"

The blond finished up his last test and leaned back to stretch in his chair. "It's eight o'clock on a Friday and neither of us have had dinner. Want to go out and get something?"

"Sure, just let me change."

"But you look sexy in your scrubs!"

Sakura felt her face heat up and she sent him a playful glare. "You might think that, but everyone else will think I was too lazy to look somewhat decent."

She chuckled at the pout on Naruto's face before she went to their bedroom and changed into jeans and simple red long-sleeved shirt. She picked up her scrubs from the floor and began to fold them when the scrap of paper fell from the pocket she placed it in.

Should she tell Naruto about the appearance of her ex? She knew he wasn't the type to get angry and overly jealous about such an occurrence, but he knew about Sasuke and didn't like him at all. Though the two only met twice on random occurrences while Sakura was dating Sasuke the two instantly did not get along. Naruto especially disliked Sasuke after she had told him about the rocky end to their relationship. She didn't want to worry Naruto over stupid thing and besides, she was pretty sure she wasn't going to call. And though she made a solid decision to not contact the Uchiha she slipped the number into her jewelry box, before meeting her husband in the living room to go out to eat.

* * *

[Author's Corner]

~The idea for this story came from the book Love The One You're With by Emily Giffin. It's an awesome book, so go read it!

~I hope all you read enjoyed! This isn't my first fanfiction though this is my first Naruto fanfic so I hope I did the characters justice because I try to keep them as in-character as possibly.


	2. Chapter 2: Halo

Disclaimer/Warning: I still do not own Naruto and some language

Reply to guest reader review manduderaw: If I did that then it would be a spoiler and I honestly don't think I'll have that happen. If you don't like the idea then don't read simple as that.. Yes, I agree he deserves the best but keep in mind that this is only the beginning of the story. If you would like to talk about this matter further then log on and PM me or you could continue to read and find out.

Anywho, enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

Come What May

[Halo]

Everywhere I'm looking now

I'm surrounded by your embrace

Baby I can see your halo

You know you're my saving grace  
~Halo by Beyoncé

* * *

Sakura shifted as she began to wake up, the sound of her alarm clock filling the room. What is really Monday again? With a sigh she turned the alarm off and sat up, unsurprised that her husband was still asleep. A soft smile adorned her face as she stared at his sleeping form- a small trail of drool on his cheek. She loved him so much and she knew without a doubt that he loved her too. He said it every day and showed it as well. She reached a hand out and began to stroke his messy hair, wishing that she could stay in bed with him all day, but when she glanced at the clock again she knew they both had things to do that day.

"Naruto," She called, shaking his shoulders. "You need to get up now or you'll be late."

Naruto grumbled something and shifted away from her. "Five more minutes."

She sighed, knowing that there was only one way to get him up when he was this tired. "You can take a shower with me if you want."

"I'm up!" He said, lifting his tired body up.

Sakura laughed, "You perv."

About an hour and a half later the two were heading out of the door to hail a taxi. Naruto was the first to get out, giving her a goodbye kiss and a reminder that he had a training session after work. As the taxi pulled away she watched as students greeted him as he walked to the entrance; she admired him just as much as the students did.

When she arrived at the elementary school she was met by a very flustered Hinata. Though this was normal it seemed to be a serious issue.

"What's up?" Sakura asked, putting her purse away in a drawer.

"Kiba…he…he," Hinata stuttered out. Sakura waited patiently, knowing her friend would eventually spit out what was wrong. "Kiba asked me to marry him!"

"Really?" Sakura shouted. "That's great Hinata! Took him long enough!" Sakura could never forget the feeling she had when Naruto asked her to marry him- she was left in a daze and felt like she was floating. "You did say yes, right?"

"Of course!" The pale woman looked away embarrassed. "Well…after a fainted."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh, leaning on her desk to keep herself from falling over. "I'm sorry Hinata, but that's adorable." She gave her friend a hug, "I'm so happy for you." She released her and looked at her slyly. "So when's the wedding?"

"Sakura this just happened yesterday, I haven't thought about it!"

"Really? Because I had my wedding date hours after I was engaged.

"W-well-"

The playful banter was cut off when there was a knock on the door. One of the counselors, Kikyo Yamaguchi walked in with a sunny smile. "Hello ladies! I'm escorting a new student around and she needed to know where the nurses' office was so she can take her medication. Mr. Uchiha, Akane, this is Mrs. Sakura Uzuamki and Ms. Hinata Hyuuga."

Sakura was shocked when she saw Akane hobbling in on crutches with Sasuke trailing behind her. She felt like she was punched in the gut, the memories from the Friday night and further coming back. She also remembered that she still had his number in her jewelry box.

"Miss. Sakura!" Akane grinned, "You're the school nurse too?"

Sakura smiled back- still finding the child's happiness infectious. "Yep! Guess I'll be seeing you around."

"Daddy, I get to see Miss. Sakura every day!" Akane cheered.

"Just don't pester her," Sasuke replied drily. Kikyo soon ushered the two out of the office and continued on with the tour.

"Sasuke Uchiha…" Hinata muttered. "Sakura isn't he your ex?"

Sakura sighed, sitting on one of the beds. "Yes, he is."

Hinata looked at her carefully. "Didn't he move to Suna after you guys split?"

"Yeah, I never thought he'd move back here." Sakura stroked her wedding ring. "I don't understand why he's back. He hated it here."

Hinata shrugged, leaning against the wall behind her. "I'm actually curious about his daughter though. She's in kindergarten by the looks of it, meaning…" She trailed off, seeing the paling look on her friend's face. "I-I mean-!"

Sakura shook her head. "No, I wondered the same thing. The thing is…if he did have a girl while he was with me things would make more sense. He was distracted and just didn't seem all there." She sighed, standing up. "Well, anyway I don't really care anymore. His daughter is a cutie, but he's another story. I refuse to call him or have anything to do with him."

"Call him?"

Oh, she forgot she had left that part out when she was telling Hinata on Saturday afternoon about his appearance. It wasn't an intentional omission- it just slipped her mind. "He left me his number with a note telling me to call him if I wanted. I honestly thought about it, but I realized it would be stupid."

Hinata thought about what she was just told before saying, "I think you made a good choice. Why bring up bad memories?" she then let out a short chuckled. "That and you know Scarlett would kill you."

Sakura shuttered a bit, remembering how pissed off, her college roommate and good friend, Scarlett was when she found Sakura hung-over after her break up with the Uchiha.

"Sakura the asshole wasn't worth your time anyway," Scarlett had said bluntly. "He made you clingy and weak, you weren't yourself at all. You stopped hanging out with everyone just to be with him. A boyfriend should be an addition to your life and better your overall person, not consume it and leave you a shell of yourself."

"God, I really don't want to tell Scarlett about this," Sakura said. "She would come all the way here from the south to tell him off for coming back to the country and tell me off for taking his number."

"You do know she has connections and would find out anyway."

"I know, that's why I have to tell her before someone else does."

The rest of her shift at the school went smoothly with only a few kids coming in with scrapes from the playground. It was around noon when Sakura packed up her things and said her goodbyes to everyone. As she moved through the empty hallways of the elementary school she made a mental list of the things she needed to pick up after her shift at the hospital. _Paper towel, toilet paper…did Naruto eat all the instant Raman yet? _

She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the door to the consoler's office open and a dark haired man walk out, until she bumped into the man. "Sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!" She looked up and flinched at the cold eyes that met hers. Sasuke.

"Hn," He muttered, placing his hands in the pockets of his slacks. "Same as always I see."

A brand of rage that Sasuke could only bring flashed through her. Same as always? She knew for a fact that she was a changed woman. She sent him a glare and snapped out: "Apologies for not being to your standards." It felt good to snap at him and walk away, leaving him slightly stunned. However, it was a short lived victory because he was right behind her on the way out of the building. His very presence made her feel uncomfortable and self-conscious.

"You'll take good care of Akane when she comes in, correct?"

Sakura stopped, turning around to raise an eyebrow. "Of course I will. Why wouldn't I?"

"She has for some reason become attached to you," He replied with the same dull tone. "She talked about you all weekend."

_Karma's a bitch ain't it? _She couldn't help but think. _You didn't want to talk to me at all a week before we broke up and now you have a daughter who loves to talk about me. Oh the irony. _"That's adorable. Now, if you'd excuse me I have another job to get to."

"What are you doing after your shift?"

The simple question brought confusing feelings to her and a coolness came over her body. "Why?"

"I wanted to talk to you about a few things and give you something," Was his simple reply.

She searched his eyes for a motive of some kind, but found none. "No."

"It's about Akane."

"Don't use Akane as an excuse," She snapped. She refused to give into his demands like she had a few years back. She was stronger now and would not be bossed around. "If you need to talk to me about Akane then you will just have to come in when I'm on staff here. And what could you possibly have to give me?"

"You left behind your journal."

Her eyes widened at the mention of her old journal that was given to her by her late grandmother. The journal was filled with pictures that Sakura had taken and with them were quotes that she had written or short stories. It was something that she started her freshman year of college and kept it going until she misplaced it one day- breaking her heart when she realized how many precious memories were stored in that journal. She never thought that she had left it in the old apartment her and Sasuke had shared. She almost caved right then, but then Naruto's smile popped up in her head. She couldn't do that to him. "Bring it to me tomorrow when I'm in my office."

She didn't let him say another word after that- quickly going outside and hailing a taxi. She slumped down into the seat and pulled out her phone, a text from Naruto saying: "I Love You! The kids keep pestering me to bring you in one day and bring in cookies. I told them maybe if you had a day off from the hospital." She smiled down at her phone, sending him a reply saying she'd talk to him about it later. She tried to remember an instance where Sasuke texted her that he loved her and came up with none. He was too into himself and serious to do something so fluffy. Her phone vibrated in her hand; why was Naruto calling her?

"Don't you have a class to teach?" She questioned curiously.

"It's just study hall and I escaped to the teacher's lounge," He replied. She could hear the sound of the copiers and muttering of teachers in the background. "I just wanted to see how your day was."

She wanted to say confusing and irritating with the appearance of her ex, but decided that was a conversation for home when they were face to face. "It's been okay, I just pulled up to the hospital." She paid the driver with her credit card and headed into the hospital.

"Oh okay, I'll talk to you later then. I won't be home till close to ten, so you don't have to wait up if you don't want to," He replied.

She went into the changing room to put on a pair of purple scrubs. "I'll probably be up watching TV, I'll have some dinner ready for you."

"Awesome thanks!"

She finished changing and stored her clothes in her locker. "I have to get going Naruto."

"Okay, I'll see you at home then," He replied. "I Love you."

Would she ever stop smiling whenever he said that? He said it so sweetly and earnestly she could never imagine not hearing it from him. "I love you too." When she hung up all traces of Sasuke were gone from her mind and she was in nurse mode. She was ready to take on anything that came her way during her six hour shift.

* * *

[Author's Corner]

~I hope everyone enjoyed and reviews are much appreciated to tell me your opinion on this story.

~Scarlett Hayes is an OC that will be properly introduced soon

~Yes, one of the pairings in here is KibaXHinata simply because I like that pairing


	3. Chapter 3: How to Love

Disclaimer/Warning: Nope...don't own Naruto. Warning language and sexual themes- no lemons

I would just like to say that this story is about Sakura finding herself and how she become stronger after Sasuke (Though there is more to this story then that). To answer a few reviews and future reviews: No Sakura will not have an a fair with Sasuke- just wait and see what happens!

Any who ENJOY!

* * *

Come What May

[How To Love]

See I just want you to know that you deserve the best

You're beautiful, you're beautiful

Yeah, and I want you to know

You're far from the usual

~How To Love by Lil Wayne

* * *

The day that Sakura met Sasuke was as normal as any other day. She was a sophomore at Fire Country University on a full ride scholarship with a major in Nursing. She was sitting in the library with various books and papers scattered around her, studying for an upcoming exam that she _had _to pass in order to get her B+ in Calculus II to an A. She had been broken from her trance when the sound of a chair moving across from her reached her ears. Looking up from her papers she saw it was a familiar raven haired young man from her classes- Sasuke Uchiha.

"Can I sit here?" He asked in his deep, dry tone.

Sakura felt her face heat up at the sudden appearance of the attractive man in front of her. How could she say no? "Sure." She wondered why he wanted to sit across from her of all people, but decided not to question it. Sasuke took out his laptop and the two began to work in a steady, but surprisingly comfortable silence. When both were done they simply gave a nod of acknowledgement and went about their way. Soon though this became a habit. Sakura would be studying in the library instead of partying with her roommate and Sasuke would soon find her to sit with her. On a Friday night when he wasn't there it through her off balance.

_He isn't like you Sakura, _She thought with a heavy heart. _He probably has a life outside of the library. _She gathered her things and headed out into the chilly night, going to get a quick snack before heading to her dorm for the night. She wasn't surprised that her roommate, Scarlett Hayes, was not there when she returned and started going through the motions to get ready for bed. Though her best friend from high school, Ino Yamanaka, asked her to go to a party she declined the offer; Sakura just wasn't a partier- preferring a cozy night with a book then a wild, alcohol induced night out.

"Sakura!" Scarlett shouted as she came into the room. Scarlett was loud and outspoken and had a knack of getting people frustrated with her though she was an overall good person. Her long wavy red hair complemented her name and her dark blue eyes always screamed mischief. "You missed your man playing a good game of basketball tonight."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at her roommate, used to her loud entrances. "What are you talking about?"

"That Sasuke guy you said you sit with at the library a lot is on the basketball team and he's actually really good," She replied, plopping down onto the futon. "I'm surprised that pretty boy has so much skill."

"He's on the basketball team?" Sakura questioned.

"You've been sitting with this guy for almost a month and you didn't know that?"

Sakura flushed with embarrassment. "W-well I never asked. We only talk about the classes that we have together and help each other on our projects."

"No wonder you're still single," Scarlett sighed out. "How much do you want to get to know Sasuke?"

"Well…a lot actually. I just don't know how."

Scarlett tilted her head to look Sakura right in the eye, blue eyes steeling in seriousness. "I'm telling you this as your friend: you need to break out of that shell you put yourself into. I'm not saying you need to have a wild night out and sleep with random guys, but you need to get out of that library more. I understand completely how important grades are to you, but take one night out for yourself. Once you do that you might start to gain more confidence in the way you speak to people which include Sasuke. Understand?"

"I understand," Sakura replied softly. She knew Scarlett was right- she was right most of the time. Scarlett was loyal and knew exactly what to tell her at any time and Sakura was grateful that she would always hear the truth from her. Being an only child, Sakura never had the experience of having a sister so as the two became closer she looked at Scarlett as such. "You're right…I didn't mean to, but I put myself in a shell...can you help me out?"

Scarlett grinned, "Of course I can!"

Over the course of the next few weeks Sakura started to become more confident and outgoing thanks to Scarlett's help. It was small changes- she joined a book club and writing club to branch out and meet new people as well as going to a few parties here and there with Scarlett (though she didn't drink). She met Sasuke twice a week in the library and felt more confident each time.

"You haven't been here as much," Sasuke stated, turning the page of a thick history book.

Sakura was used to his way of talking- he never asked questions really, just spoke in short statements. "I joined a book club and a writing club, so I've been busy. How's basketball doing?"

Sasuke shrugged, "Okay." He shut his book, glancing at his watch. "I'm going to get dinner at Fireside. You can come if you want."

Was he asking her out or was this an extension of friendship? "Okay…sure!" Sakura clumsily gathered her things and walked with him across the campus. For the first time she noticed how popular Sasuke actually was. People nodded to him in acknowledgment and some flashed smiles at him as they passed. Sasuke would return them with nods or raise a hand in a short wave. Her heart sped up as she tried not to stare at him. _He's so cool! _She squealed in her mind.

After that something changed between the two. They started expanding from conversations about their school work to deeper conversations. She discovered that if picked the right topic she could get Sasuke to talk for a whole twenty minutes without her having to ask a question to keep the conversation going. By the end of their sophomore year she could firmly say they were friends though they only went to the library and out to eat together after studying. It wasn't until their junior year that things got more interesting. It was a shift that was so slow that she didn't even notice that it happened.

She always knew she was attracted to Sasuke. He was intelligent, athletic, and extremely handsome. So, when he asked her out on a more official date she couldn't say no and she was hooked. She began to go to club meetings less to go with him out at night to various parties and functions around campus and even began to go to sporting events which she thought she'd never do. Sakura wasn't just Sakura Haruno, she was Sakura Haruno who was Sasuke Uchiha's girlfriend and she loved the title. It made fangirls envious and guys that were friends with Sasuke gave her respect.

"Sakura watch you're self around those fangirls," Scarlett had warned. "I'm not on good grounds with the campus police to get into anymore brawls."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine!" She had replied with a grin. "And seriously? How many fights have you been getting in?"

Scarlett simply smirked. "Oh yeah know…a few here and there."

Almost two years later, college ending and real life beginning, she was still with Sasuke and best friends with Scarlett and Ino though she didn't talk to them as much as she'd like. Sasuke continued to grad school to earn a law degree and work as a paralegal in the pre-law office while Sakura began working at the hospital on campus in order to be near Sasuke and so the two could share a small one bedroom apartment.

"Sakura I honestly think it would be better if you moved away from campus and back to Konoha. There are so many other opportunities there," Scarlett told her over lunch. Scarlett had moved back down south and came back to Kohaku (the suburb of Konoha that Fire Country University was located) to spend time with her "sister". "It just seems that…you're missing out."

"Missing out on what?" Sakura asked defensively.

"Missing out on opportunities. With your abilities you could get twice as much at the hospital in Konoha then you do here. That and you could go fulltime instead of part-time," Scarlett replied. "I understand that you love Sasuke and want to be with him, but do you really need to risk your career for him?"

"I'm not risking anything," Sakura huffed. She could never fathom being without Sasuke. She loved him and would do anything for him, with him, or to him. Though she sometimes worried if she was becoming clingy she pushed it to the back of her mind and continued on. "I'm happy."

Scarlett shrugged, dropping the subject. "Alright, fine no need to get moody. Though I will say this- you'll regret it later."

Sakura reeled back in her chair like Scarlett slapped her. "Regret what?"

"Regret no leaving this town. This suburb is great for college living, but not for trying to establish a career."

Now when Sakura looked back she wished she had listened to Scarlett and not shut her down for a month out of frustration and not wanting Scarlett to be right. What frustrated her more was when Ino almost said the exact same thing.

"I'm not saying leave him Sakura," Ino had said. "I'm saying reassess your options before it's too late. If he loved you he'd understand."

"You and Scarlett are acting like he's holding me captive."

"Don't you see it Sakura? Mentally he is holding you captive."

It wasn't until she had blown off all her friends and family that she realized how right they were. The shift was subtle- there was no huge fight or words that were said and never could be taken back. It was when she realized that their relationship was becoming lopsided. She was sure that he still loved her, he told her so in his own way, but maybe he wasn't as smitten with her as he once was. She had become a shell of her former self- weak, needy, and ultimately _that _girl. That girl who snooped into her boyfriend's things; that girl who dropped everything to be with her boyfriend; and that girl that eventually didn't even care about her career because she was so wrapped on in her relationship. Sakura wasn't looking to start a fight, but she found herself going through his dresser one day and found a small book that was full of writing from Sasuke. She wasn't sure what is was and asked about it out of curiosity; Sasuke was furious and through their fight he spat out: "This is why I don't want to get married. Not to you or anyone else."

"I'm sorry I won't do it again!" Sakura had cried in pure frustration and emotional pain.

"Marriage just isn't my thing," He said.

"Then what's the point of being with someone and telling them you love them?" Sakura snapped, tears rolling down her face. "I'm not asking for any time soon, but eventually!"

"I've got a lot more to think about then marriage," Sasuke said, his tone going from frustrated to a nerve grating dry.

"I understand that." She was now trying to appease him. "I'm sorry…"

He sighed, shaking his head as if he was speaking to a child. "Let's just drop it."

The subject was dropped and a few minutes later Sakura laid in bed with him, wondering if her relationship was really going downhill. A few days later she got her answer: her relationship was coming to end and fast. The two were out walking around the town hand-in-hand taking in the beautiful scenery of spring. They walked through a park where they witnessed a young man in his early twenties stoop to one knee and propose to a beautiful blond haired girl. The girl jumped up and down screaming "Yes!" and threw her arms around the man's shoulders in an embrace.

Sakura clapped along with the other spectators, looking at the scene longingly. She wasn't talking directly to Sasuke, but she accidently let slip: "That's so sweet. I hope that's us someday." When she glanced at Sasuke she was met with a cold glare that she continued to feel for the rest of the day. She felt numb until they arrived back at their apartment where they sat in cold silence.

"Sasuke," She began meekly. "Can we talk?"

"About what?" He glared.

She wanted to say that she didn't have to be married to him to be happy. That it really didn't matter as long as the two of them loved each other, but as she stared into his cold onyx eyes she knew she couldn't do it. Not because she wanted to get married that bad, but because she was beginning to see what kind of man he was. She decided to test the waters by saying: "I…I don't think this is going to work. I think it would be best for the both of us if we broke up."

Sakura didn't really expect him to jump up with wide eyes and get on his knees, begging her not to leave but she would have liked a reaction other than an amused stare and an agreement that they should end things. Sakura packed her things up in under an hour and met him back in the living room where he continued to look at her in amusement.

"Well…this is goodbye Sasuke," Sakura stated, trying to sound firm.

"Bye Sakura," He said softly, almost in a condescending way. She could tell that he wanted to say "you won't do better than me", but he instead said nothing.

Furiously, Sakura put her things in her beat up car and called Scarlett. "Can I stay with you for a while?"

Scarlett didn't ask questions. She didn't even make a snarky comment about the lack of communication over the last few weeks. "Of course you can."

Tears streamed down Sakura's face the two hours it took to get to Scarlett's. _Can I find anyone better? _She wondered as a sob escaped her mouth.

* * *

"…Kura…Sakura!"

Sakura's eyes snapped open, her green eyes meeting worried blue ones. "N-Naruto?" She sat up from her sprawled on position the couch and looked around confused, had she really passed out right after work? And did she really have a dream about the day she left Sasuke? "Did you go to training?"

Naruto reached and wiped his thumb across her cheek, wiping away tears she had not realized she was crying. He moved to sit next to her on the couch and wrapped his arms around her. "Yeah I did, it's pretty late…why were you crying?"

She leaned her head against his chest. "Just a bad dream…"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She didn't want to. How can you explain to your husband that you had a dream about your ex who by the way has appeared again? But, she knew she had to. "I…yeah I do." She took a deep breath before telling him everything from the time Sasuke appeared at the hospital with his daughter to the time where she talked to him in the hallways of the elementary school- not leaving a single detail out. By the end she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier…I didn't know if it was a big deal or not…"

Naruto stared off blankly for a moment in thought, before leaning his forehead onto the top of Sakura's head. "Sakura you can tell me anything, big deal or not, you know that. Him coming back after the way he treated you is a big deal. Especially since he wants to talk to you like he's your friend. Using his daughter as a means to talk to you is pathetic."

Sakura buried her face in his arms. "He makes me feel pathetic…"

Naruto gently pushed her back to look into her eyes. "That's in the past now. You're Sakura Uzumaki, my wife, and you're amazing. Every time you see him just remember that."

She didn't think it was possible to love this man anymore then she did, but in that moment she realized she could. "I love you." _ I found someone so much better than Sasuke. _

He leaned to kiss her fully. "I love you too."

* * *

[Author's Corner]

~Yep, this was a flashback chapters and we met Scarlett! Yay! She is one of the main OCs in this story and you'll learn more about her as the story progresses.

~Leave comments/questions/and concerns through a review!

~I would like to mention that I normally don't update this fast- I've just had nothing to do for the past 3 days. I apologize but don't get too use to fast updates.


	4. Chapter 4: All Time Low

Disclaimer/Warning: Nope, still don't own Naruto...language ahead.

Thank you for all the support so far! That really makes my day! Oh and in response to a question if Naruto and Sakura work at the same school: No, Naruto is a teacher at Konoha High School and Sakura is the nurse at Konoha West Elementary

ENJOY!

* * *

Come What May

[All Time Low]

How do you get up from an all-time low?

I'm in pieces, seems like peace is the only thing I'll never know

How do you get up from an all-time low?  
~All Time Low by The Wanted

* * *

Sakura anxiously sat in the nurses' office- fidgeting with her phone. Why did Hinata have to call off today of all days? She didn't want to see Sasuke; even if they were just talking about his daughter. Her dream, nightmare really, brought back a sting of old feelings. It was starling how hurt she felt even after all these years. A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts and she braced herself. Sasuke walked into the room holding a small bag and a book- it was her journal. When the door closed she felt trapped and uncomfortable.

"Sakura," was his simple greeting. "I came to drop off Akane's medication that she takes at 11:30 every day." He placed the medication on the table beside her. "And I also have your journal."

She forced her hand not to tremble as she took back her precious journal- running her hand along the cool hardcover. "Thanks." She was hoping that he would leave, but he continued to stand there. "Is there something else you need?"

He glanced away for a moment before focusing his stare back to her. "When you left…"

Sakura turned away from him, busying her shaking hands by putting away Akane's medication- she was shocked to find that she was prescribed ADD medicine, but decided to ask about it later. "I don't want to talk about it."

"When you left I expected that you'd come back, but you didn't." He continued on, placing his hands in his pockets. She had learned long ago that it was a nervous habit of his.

"Of course I wasn't coming back," Sakura replied. "What for? Our relationship wasn't going anywhere."

"We were happy."

"How long would that have lasted?"

There was a pause before Sasuke barely muttered, "Akane needs a mother."

Sakura had a feeling that she knew where this was going. "Where's her mother?"

"She abandoned her after birth," He replied. Sakura could tell he had no emotional attachment to Akane's mother by the way he calmly stated this.

"Yes, I agree that Akane needs a mother; however that has nothing to do with me."

Sasuke opened his mouth, but his sentence was interrupted by a crying child coming in with scraps on his knee.

"Mrs. Uzumaki I'm hurt!" The child cried.

"I need to handle this," Sakura said, quickly getting the needed items to help the child. "Thank you for Akane's medication, I'll make sure she takes it every day."

"Sakura-"

Sakura wasn't listening though. She focused her attention on the child and didn't look back at the Uchiha. As she placed bandages on the boy's scrapes she heard the door open and close- finally she could breathe again. She didn't mean to come off uncaring- she really did care about Akane- however it wasn't her responsibility to be a mother to her.

* * *

Two weeks had gone by since, what Sakura called, the Series of Incidents. She saw Akane every day at 11:30 to give her, her medication then it was off to the hospital. It was a Tuesday afternoon where Sakura did not have to report to the hospital so she picked up a shift at the school, figuring she'd help Hinata out with some filing they were behind on. It took the two of then an hour and a half after the school day ended to get everything done in the office.

"Thanks for helping Sakura," Hinata said. "You could have gone home after your shift."

"To do what? Sit in an empty house for the rest of the day?" Sakura replied. "It was fun to hang out with you. Hey, you know what? We should go on a double date!"

Hinata's eyes widened with happiness. "We should! I'll ask Kiba about it tonight."

The two finished cleaning up their office before locking up for the day, walking down the abandoned halls of Konoha West Elementary. Upon walking outside Sakura stopped short when she caught sight of a familiar brown haired girl with tears streaming down her face.

"Isn't that…" Hinata began when she caught sight of the child as well.

"You go on, I'll take care of her," Sakura said. Hinata looked at her friend uncertainly, but Sakura waved her off, saying she'd give her a call later. She approached the small girl, patting her shoulder softly. "Akane what are you doing here?"

Akane looked at her with fear in her dark eyes. "Daddy forgot about me!"

"I'm sure he didn't forget you sweetie. He's just running a bit late," Sakura told her reassuringly. _Yeah, almost two hours late! What's that idiot thinking? _"How about we try to give him a call?"

Sakura pulled out her cell phone and let the girl call her father. Her heart almost broke when the girl got the answering machine to her father's phone.

"Did Daddy leave me too?" Akane whimpered.

Sakura stooped down to Akane's level to give her a hug. Did Sasuke really tell her that her mother abandoned her? "No of course not. He'll be here soon. I'll stay until he comes, okay?" Akane nodded, leaning her head against Sakura's arm and was soon asleep. Sakura pulled out her phone and redialed the number Akane had just called.

"Sasuke Uchiha," A deep voice answered.

"Do you know where your daughter is?"

"Sakura? How did you get my number and of course I know where she is. She's-"cue realization in 3, 2, and 1: "Shit!"

"Exactly," Sakura hissed. "Get over here now. You have your daughter worried that you left her!" She heard a rustle of papers before Sasuke hung up his phone. She waited with the sleeping girl for another twenty minutes- it was now 5:00pm. Sasuke rushed out of his car and to where the two females sat: one sleeping and the other looking absolutely pissed off.

"Akane," He muttered worriedly. He slowly lifted the girl into his arms and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Sakura…thank you."

"Just worry about the daughter you scared," Sakura replied, crossing her arms in anger. "If you can't pick her up on time then put her in afterschool daycare. There's a program that the school runs that you can sign her up for."

Sakura saw in that moment a different side of Sasuke appear. The side that absolutely cared and was worried about his daughter's wellbeing- she was seeing his fatherly side and it was almost scary. She felt some of her anger deflate at the tenderness he was showing, but was still furious. "Bye Sasuke."

"Wait," He said, reaching out to touch her arm. "Why don't you get dinner with us sometime? As a thank you of course."

She looked at him guardedly. "I'll give it some consideration." Which basically meant: hell no. She rubbed Akane's back as a silent goodbye to the girl, before hailing a taxi back to her apartment. She was so furious that Sasuke could forget his child like that. Akane needed a mother to take care of her- she could tell that Sasuke was beginning to feel overwhelmed with so much responsibility along with getting promotions in his firm. Sakura made a mental note to check on Akane over the next few days to make sure she got into an after school program.

* * *

[A Few Weeks Later]

She was emotionally and physically exhausted. She worked a double shift at the hospital and watched a child die in his mother's arms. Sakura felt like if one more thing happened before she was able to go to bed she would probably break down and cry. It was nine at night before she got back home where she saw Naruto at the kitchen table staring blankly at papers in front of him.

"Hey hun," She greeted, shuffling tiredly over to kiss him. "You look more tired than usual. What's up?"

He looked at her with tired blue eyes. "I…I'm being sent out on a tour. I've been put on the active duty list."

At that exact moment- when she thought she couldn't feel any more emotionally or physically exhausted- she felt her world fall apart around the edges. She knew that it was always a possibility for him to be sent off- but now that it was actually happening she didn't know if she was ready to let him go. So, she did the only thing she was capable of doing at that moment; wrap her arms around her husband and cry.

* * *

[Author's Corner]

~Again, thank you for all the reviews and such so far!

~And yes...plot twist


	5. Chapter 5: Mine

Disclaimer/Warning: Nope...still don't own Naruto. Language ahead

Thank you for all the support! It makes me so happy to see your reviews in my email!

* * *

Come What May

[Mine]

Do you remember all the city lights on the water?

You saw me start to believe for the first time

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter

You are the best thing that's ever been mine  
~Mine by Taylor Swift

* * *

When she first met Naruto Uzumaki it was the summer between her junior and senior year of college and she was in Scarlett's hometown on a weekend they had nothing to do. She didn't want to go, she wanted to spend her free weekend with Sasuke, but Scarlett blackmailed her to go. So, instead of cuddling with her beau she was in for a two and a half hour car ride to the south- the blazing hot south.

"Well at least you'll get a tan," Scarlett joked. "You could use some color on your pasty skin."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Sorry for not being naturally tan like you."

"Apology accepted. Not everyone can be this awesome."

Upon arrival to the cozy suburb called South Konoha, Sakura admired the view- not totally used to the atmosphere. She had grown up in a busily city and found the culture of the suburb calming.

"Here we are!" Scarlett shouted, eyes full of longing and happiness. Though Scarlett loved college and her party scene, Sakura always knew the red head was homesick and missed her family dearly. "Come on I can't wait to introduce you to everyone!"

Sakura took her duffle bag out of the car and followed Scarlett across the driveway to the front door of the beautiful suburban two-story home where she rang the doorbell numerous times. Seconds later the door flew up and a blond man, at least in his early twenties, with bright blue eyes stood in front of them. The strange whisker-like lines on his face crinkled as he smiled; stashing his cellphone into his jean pockets to give them his full attention.

"Scarlett!" He cried as Scarlett launched herself at him, giving him a tight hug. "I haven't seen you in months!"

"Hey cuz," Scarlett said, detaching herself from him. "Sorry for the lack of communication. I've been busy with projects and stuff." She ushered Sakura inside and closed the door behind them. "Naruto this is my roommate Sakura. Sakura this is my cousin Naruto."

A blush spread across Naruto's face as he looked at the pretty woman in front of him. "H-hi Sakura."

Sakura smiled, inwardly chuckling at the boyish color on his cheek. "Nice to meet you."

That weekend Sakura learned that definition of a close knit family. The Hayes' loved being around each other and welcomed Sakura into the home with open arms as if she was another child of Mr. and Mrs. Hayes. The Hayes family consisted of Mr. Hayes, Mrs. Hayes (who Scarlett was a spitting image of), thirteen year old twins Kikyo and Mark, and cousin Naruto Uzumaki. It was Saturday morning (she had arrived Friday evening) when she had her first full conversation with Naruto over coffee in the kitchen while everyone else was asleep.

"So, what are you doing up early?" Naruto questioned, breaking the calm silence that had engulfed the two over the past few minutes.

"I've just become used to waking up early for classes so my body automatically wakes up around seven," Sakura replied. "You?"

"Same actually. My earliest class is at nine though I usually roll out of bed at 9:45."

"Hmm, so you're one of those roll out of bed and throw on sweatpants kind of guys."

"Hey, no judgment. After a long night of studying the last thing I want to do in the morning is worry about what I'm wearing."

Sakura laughed softly, letting him take that round. He was an entertaining guy who seemed to know how to make her laugh easily. "So where do you go to college and what are you majoring in?"

"I go to South Fire Country University with a major in Education with a focus on history," He replied with a sense of pride in his voice, he was clearly proud of his choice in major and his future aspirations. "I'm also in their FROTC."

"That's awesome," Sakura said, not pegging Naruto for an education major but for some reason could still see it. She also couldn't see him doing basic training for the military though he had an athletic built. "What made you want to join the military?"

"Well, it helps pay for school for one, less money for uncle to spend," He replied. "And I've always wanted to fight for my country. I guess you could call me a patriot."

Sakura truly found these pieces of information interesting. Naruto had a depth to him that she admired and for some reason she whole heartedly wanted to see him succeed. "I really hope you go far."

Naruto flashed his trademark confident smile. "Thanks Sakura. So what do you do?"

"I'm majoring in Nursing," She replied. "I hope to someday own my own clinic."

"You could join the medical unit of the military," Naruto suggested. "They're always hiring nurses."

Sakura pondered on the suggestion. She had never thought of that as an option. "I think I'll give it some consideration."

They talked about college and what they wanted for their future jobs until Scarlett came downstairs an hour later fully dressed- ordering Sakura to get dressed so they could go shopping.

"I apologize for sending you to the frontlines of this battle solider," Naruto joked. "Please come back unharmed from Scarlett's tedious hours of shopping."

Sakura mock saluted him. "I'll try my best sir." Little did she know that she would be having more friendly military inspired banter with Naruto in the coming years.

* * *

The months turned into years and her life slowly fell apart- her break up with Sasuke hitting her hard as she drove the two and a half hours from her apartment to Scarlett's in the South suburbs with tears in her eyes. By this time Scarlett had her own two bedroom townhouse so Sakura wasn't intruding the Hayes family.

"Girl, you look like a mess," Scarlett commented softly as she handed Sakura a tissue. "Now tell me what happened."

Sakura told her about the couple in the park and all the way up to the moment that she broke up with the Uchiha. Scarlett sat patiently as her best friend sobbed through her story. She felt sorry for Sakura, she really did, but she wasn't going to sugar coat anything. However, that moment wasn't right for harsh words so she wrapped her arms around her former roommate and let her cry until she fell asleep. When she did Scarlett eased away to go out and buy her ice cream, knowing that she needed it. She left a note on the coffee table before slipping out of the door.

A few minutes after Scarlett left Sakura woke up in a daze. At first she was confused, then she was sad, and last she was depressed and angry. She went to the kitchen where a wine bottle sat mockingly on the countertop. Without much thought Sakura took the bottle and began to pour herself a glass. That one glass turned into four and due to her low alcohol tolerance (seeing as she rarely drank in college) she was drunk on the floor feeling like even more of a hot mess. When Scarlett walked into the townhouse and found the pinkette on the kitchen floor she was caught in between being angry at Sasuke for putting her "sister" in such a state and being furious at Sakura for letting herself fall into that state. She knew at that moment that Sakura had tried to stay strong for so long, but lost herself during those years with Sasuke. When Scarlett was finally able to get Sakura to sober up a bit and get to the living room couch she was even more irritated.

"Sakura the asshole wasn't worth your time anyway," Scarlett said bluntly, making Sakura's eyes sting with raw emotion. "He made you clingy and weak, you weren't yourself at all. You stopped hanging out with everyone just to be with him. A boyfriend should be an addition to your life and better your overall person, not consume it and leave you a shell of yourself."

"He…I…" Sakura tried to stammer out. Any words that she wanted to say wouldn't get passed her lips. She finally hung her head and leaned onto the arm of the couch feeling emotionally and physically exhausted. "Can I go to sleep?"

Scarlett sighed, feeling like she might have gotten through to her friend even in her half-drunk state. "Sure hun, let me help you upstairs."

The next morning Sakura woke up with a raging headache and was grateful that Scarlett left some pain medication and a water bottle on the medication. After waiting a bit for the medication to kick in she moved to get dressed and headed down stairs to find Scarlett. Instead of finding Scarlett downstairs she found Naruto lounging on the couch flipping the channels of the TV absentmindedly.

"Hey Naruto," Sakura said, wincing a bit at her scratchy voice. "Where's Scarlett?"

"She had to go to a meeting at work. She wanted to miss it but her boss wouldn't let her. She said you weren't feeling well and asked me to come by and check on you," Naruto replied.

Sakura made a noncommittal sound as she moved to sit on the couch adjacent to the couch Naruto was on. She had seen Naruto a few times after her first visit to Scarlett's hometown and easily become friends with the outgoing young man. His personality was infectious and could always make her laugh even if he was annoying at times.

"She told me what happened," Naruto said after a while. "Are…you okay?"

All Sakura felt was empty. Was she okay? "I'll be fine."

"If you ever need to talk I'm here," He said, meaning what he said. "It's just that…I believe that relationships only work if both are equally committed and make each other a better person." He sent her a weak smile and chuckled softly as if her being sad and miserable actually made him sad as well. His blue eyes reflected her feelings of sadness with understanding. "When Scarlett told me about Sasuke I almost went to punch the guy in the face. You deserve so much better Sakura, I mean it."

Sakura felt truly touched by the words Naruto had just spoken. The smile that he had on his face filled her with hope that tomorrow would be better and that she really was worth something. She reached over and grabbed his hand, surprising him but he grasped her hand back. It wasn't a romantic gesture, but one of thankfulness and relief. "Thank you Naruto. I needed that."

Now, she sat in the kitchen of her apartment with her husband in her arms. She had stopped crying and now they were simply holding each other- afraid to let go. Hadn't the constant fighting and disagreements between Fire Country and the Sound gone long enough? She thought so.

"Have you told Scarlett or your uncle and aunt?" She asked in a soft tone.

"Not yet," He replied tiredly. "I will in the morning. Can we go to bed now?'

She kissed his forehead, running her hand through his soft locks. "Of course we can." In a matter of twenty minutes they were both passed out in bed.

* * *

Sakura was proud to be Naruto Uzumaki's wife. He was generous, loyal, patriotic, and an overall amazing person. They had their ups and downs, but they always made it work because they knew how to communicate with each other. When she watched him stand at attention in his black and grey military uniform her heart soared- the country's insignia proudly worn on the right upper arm. Her husband the history teacher- her husband the solider. She didn't want to let him go, but she knew it was his duty and his passion to serve his country.

"Just remember that he'll be back," Scarlett said, putting an arm around Sakura's shoulder. "This isn't his first time away."

"I know, but this is the first time he's been sent off since he's been with me," Sakura replied. "I miss him already."

The soldiers where dismissed to say one last goodbye to their families. When he wrapped his arms around her she burned the memory in her mind. She engraved in her brain how he smelled and felt in her arms.

"Remember that I love you, okay?" He told her. "I'll be back."

"I love you." She gave him a strained smile. "I'll be waiting."

* * *

[Author's Corner]

~Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!

~In case anyone is wondering about why Scarlett's name as well as her brother's name is pretty American/English it's because her family is a mixed family- her father being a foreigner (hence the last name Hayes). Also, I will get into how Naruto is her cousin in a later chapter (no spoiler for you).


	6. Chapter 6: Stay

Disclaimer/Warning: I don't own Naruto- if I did a lot more episodes would be dubbed by now

Thank you all for your reviews! They make me so happy! Oh...haha I have to mention this. The anonymous reviewer who posted that flame- you know who you are- it seriously made me laugh. Please, get a life and if you don't like NaruSaku then go read something else. I don't hate NaruHina, it's okay, I just like NaruSaku more- sue me (please don't...I don't have much money)

ANYWHO ENJOY

* * *

Come What May

[Stay]

Not really sure how to feel about it

Something in the way you move

Makes me feel like I can't live without you

It takes me all the way

I want you to stay

~Stay by Rihanna

The next few days were hard, but Sakura somehow got through them. Work kept her mind occupied as did her friends- they constantly invited her to dinner and would come by her apartment to keep her company. However, Sakura would spend the coming weekend alone- deciding to take a trip to see Naruto's parents. She put a few things in the back of her brand new car (an early birthday present from Naruto seeing as he would miss her birthday) and drove the three hours it took to his hometown located in the south east of Fire Country.

When she arrived at her destination, standing before his parents she felt at peace- as if things made a little bit more sense in her life. She ignored the slight chill to the air and let the silence engulf her- the rustling of leaves surreally calming.

"It's me Sakura," She began, setting the flowers before the headstones. "I'm sorry Naruto and I haven't been by lately, but I felt like it would be nice to come by and just…talk." She sat cross-legged on the grass and began to talk about all that had happened during the last few weeks. She told them how Naruto has made her so proud and she prays he comes back unscathed. "Your son is amazing." She glanced up at the sky with a soft smile. "But I'm sure you know that already. As much as I wanted him to stay with me, I knew he needed to go do him- the military is his calling."

* * *

Everything was a mess. He knew it was bad- it was war- but he never expected to walk into the middle of hell fire. He could see the remains of previous fights and how much damage was caused to their base. He looked out at the sandy and barren land before him full of traps from Sound soldiers trying to deter them from getting to them through the Sand. Slowly a smirk crept up on his face as the adrenaline started rushing through his veins- he was prepared to face whatever war had to throw at him.

"Why am I not surprised you have that smirk on your face?"

Naruto jumped, "Captain Kakashi! How long have you been beside me?"

"Long enough," was Kakashi Hatake's simple response. "You seemed hyped kid."

Naruto groaned, glaring up at his superior. "We've been over this. I stopped being a rookie and a kid after my first tour."

"How many tours have you been on that have been over two years?"

"Uh, none?"

"Exactly, a kid."

Naruto rolled his eyes and decided to drop the subject. "So do we have orders yet?"

"Not yet, just wait a bit. I'm sure General Uchiha will give us something to do soon."

Uchiha…Naruto looked at Kakashi in confusion. "Uchiha?"

"You know, General Itachi Uchiha- the general over our division. Please don't tell me you've been in this division for months and didn't know who the general is."

Truth is Naruto never paid attention to who the general was because his orders always either came from Kakashi or Second Captain Yamato- why did he need to know Itachi Uchiha? Especially since he rarely saw the guy. But, Kakashi didn't need to know that. "Of course I know that Itachi Uchiha is our general! I'm not that stupid!"

Kakashi gave him a doubtful look. "Whatever you say kid, let's just head back. I'm getting tired of looking at endless mounds of booby-trapped sand."

Naruto walked beside Kakashi through the base, passing soldiers that he only knew by face or didn't know at all. He vaguely wondered how many of them would make it back home to their families. He was determined to make it back to Sakura- she was the one person that was going to get him through his long tour.

"How's your wife Naruto?" Kakashi asked, his one good eye staring at their path ahead- the other one covered by a slanted forehead protector with the leaf insignia engraved into it. The protector is what made him stand out from the other soldiers- only those of high ranks were given metal plated headbands. Every time Naruto saw it all he could think was: "I want that- I need to show I'm worthy of it".

"Sakura's good," Naruto replied a smile tugging at his lips at the thought of his wife. "She was really upset about me leaving, but we'll get through it. I need to make sure to write to her tonight." He sent his captain a curious look. "And what about you? Any wife I need to know of?"

Kakashi blinked at the sudden question, a blush threating to take over his features. "Well…"

"Oh! Tell me, tell me!" Naruto cried, jumping up and down like a kid (which caused him to get dirty looks from a few passing soldiers). "Who is it?"

"Well one, she's not my wife. Two you wouldn't know her," Kakashi replied.

"So?"

Kakashi cleared his throat and turned down a hallway. "I think General Uchiha needs us now."

"Hey! Don't change the subject!"

* * *

"Sakura, Kiba is working late today. Would you like to go out for dinner?" Hinata asked as the two were cleaning up their office. "You're off from the hospital tonight, right?"

"I am, but I'll have to pass tonight," Sakura replied apologetically. "I think I'm going to curl up in my comfiest clothes and watch a movie."

"Oh okay," Hinata replied, her voice full of concern. "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm fine, really. You've guys have been worrying about me way too much," Sakura replied. She then smirked, "Besides, why not meet Kiba at the door in something special?"

Hinata's whole face turned red. "S-Sakura!"

Sakura slung her purse over her shoulder and headed for the door. "Make sure to tell him how it goes! I want _all _the details." In reality she really didn't want the details, but she knew how flustered Hinata got on suggestive subjects. She made her way to the front doors, but stopped half way- deciding to go down the hall where the after school program was held. She had forgotten to ask Akane today if she was enrolled in the after school program yet and felt like she needed to check. She glanced into the room and relieved when she saw the young Uchiha.

"Happy?"

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin when the deep voice reached her ears. She spun around and glared into dark eyes of Sasuke. "Don't do that!"

Sasuke simply smirked, placing his hands inside the pockets of his expensive slacks. "I signed her up a few days ago."

Sakura crossed her arms, trying to get her heart to calm down from suddenly being startled. "That's good. It would be sad to have to see her sit on the curb until you felt like picking her up." She moved to walk away, to go home and watch movies all night, but a high pitched voice stopped her from making her dramatic exit away from her ex.

"Miss Sakura!" Akane cried, bolting out of the classroom door, passed her father and in front of Sakura. "What are you doing over here?"

Sakura smiled and tried to ignore Sasuke's steady gaze. "Oh nothing, just taking the long way out of the building."

Akane took Sakura's hand while she looked back at her father. "Can we walk Miss Sakura to her car?"

"Sweetie I don't drive to school I take a cab," Sakura said. She adored the sweet girl, but couldn't stand her father. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"I can take you home. I still owe you for taking care of Akane when I was late that one day."

Sakura bit her lip in thought. He did owe her, but how much did she really care? Then again he would be helping her save money and she could spend it on an extra movie on On Demand. With a sigh she agreed and soon she found herself sitting in Sasuke's expensive car- something that was way too expensive for her and Naruto to afford. She could see it in his eyes- he was trying to bait her with flashing his expensive toys, but she wasn't going to be won over again.

"So, he got sent off, huh?"

The question startled her-making her tare her eyes away from the city streets. "Huh?"

"Naruto, he got sent off to war didn't he?"

Sakura grasped the hem of her skirt. She didn't like the way her husband's name came off Sasuke's tongue. It was if he was looking down on him. "How do you know?"

"My brother, Itachi, is in the military," He replied, taking a turn down her street. "Itachi is his general." He scoffed, his eyes suddenly steeling. "Our military is a joke. Itachi might be proud to call himself a soldier, but I hate it. What's the point of being used like a pawn? You're basically asking to be killed."

Sakura could feel herself losing control of her anger. How dare Sasuke say that about their military. He might have been talking about his brother but she knew he was also talking about Naruto- basically calling his stupid for joining.

"Daddy," Akane spoke softly from the back seat. "Being a solider…seems really fun. Uncle Itachi always brings me stuff from his travels and talks about the people he's helped. I want to help people too."

Sasuke looked at his daughter, almost glaring at her, through the rear view mirror. "You can help people another way other than giving your life away for a useless cause. Most of them don't come back alive anyway."

"Stop the car!" Sakura shouted. Her hair shadowed her green eyes that were threatening to fill with tears. It was hard enough to have Naruto gone, but to be told that he wasn't going to come back and that he was giving his life away was too much. She knew in her heart he wasn't throwing his life away- that he _was _fighting for a good cause, but Sasuke always had the ability to get into her head one way or another.

When the car stopped just blocks away from her apartment she got out, glaring down at the Uchiha who glared right back. "My husband Naruto Uzumaki is fighting for a good cause and will come back alive. I'm proud that he is a solider and that he has the courage to protect his country when people like you would never have the guts to." She tilted her head to smile gently at an upset Akane. "Sweetie if joining the military is your calling don't let anyone hold you back."

She slammed the door closed and walked the five blocks to her apartment- anger eating away at her. She hated him so much she couldn't stand it. How was it that she was once in love with such a jerk? When she finally settling in for the night on the couch with a movie and a microwaveable dinner the apartment felt even emptier then before.

* * *

[Author's Corner]

~Sometimes I seriously feel that Sasuke has the ability to show up at random, unneeded times...oh and we'll also find out why he hates the military soon! YAY!

~Yes, this is going to lead into more of a plot and more character development between Sakura and Sasuke beyond their fighting. I went into this wanted to work on my character development skills and having a character grow and and learn through out a plot

~Leave comments/concerns/questions in reviews! (time to end this Author's Corner it is 1:15 am -_-)


	7. Chapter 7: Demons

Warning/Disclaimer: No...I don't own Naruto. Slight language

Thank you for all who have reviews, favorited, and read so far! ENJOY

* * *

Come What May

[Demons]

I want to hide the truth, I want to shelter you

But with the beast inside, there's nowhere we can hide

No matter what we breed

We still are made of greed

This is my kingdom come

~Demons by Imagine Dragons

* * *

Akane peered into her father's office, wondering if she should let him know she was there or to just leave him alone.

"What is it Akane?"

She jumped when he suddenly spoke- unaware that she had been spotted. "Nothing daddy…"

Sasuke looked up from his papers to gaze at his little girl, his heart warming. "Are you hungry? It's almost lunch time."

Akane nodded happily. "Can you make grilled cheese?"

Sasuke had to keep from rolling his eyes. Every weekend Akane wanted grilled cheese for lunch. "Sure." He went to the kitchen and began making their lunch.

"Daddy," Akane called softly from her seat at the kitchen counter. "Where did mommy go?" she fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. "I know that she left me…but do you know where she went?"

Sasuke paused, slightly shocked at what she had just asked. She had asked when she was three, but he didn't expect her to ask again. "I don't know where she went honestly. Maybe back to the town her parents live in or maybe she moved to another city."

"Why didn't she want me?"

Sasuke sighed, not wanting be give her the shallow answer. He didn't answer for a few minutes, finishing up the grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup- placing it in front of her. "She didn't want to be responsible for you. She wanted to put you up for adoption, but I wouldn't let her." He moved a few pieces of wavy hair out of her face. "I could never do that to you."

A small smile graced the little girl's face. "Thanks daddy."

"Don't thank me. I'm glad I have the chance to raise you."

The two were silence while they ate, before Akane piped up with one more question that had buzzing around in her mind. "What was her name?"

It took a lot of will power not to put a curse word in front of her name, but he managed to calmly state: "Karin."

* * *

How did everything go to hell so quick? One moment he was on patrol around the fort, the next he was on his back gasping for air- gun fire all around him, soldiers shouting orders.

"Come on Uzumaki, no time to get shell shocked."

Naruto was hoisted up to his feet and steered into the direction of the battle, gun clutched in his hands. "Kakashi what's happening?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're being attacked."

Naruto found himself running, dodging gun fire the best he could. He had always been fast, but after getting the wind knocked out of him he felt slow. _Concentrate, Naruto! _ He locked onto his target, looking down his sight, and pulling the trigger- shoulder shot. The enemy crumbled to the ground, letting out a string of curse words. _Sorry, but I have to get back to home to my wife. _

The ambush seemed to go on for hours, but in reality it only lasted about ten minutes. Naruto, suffering a few cuts and bruises, made quick work of finding those who were severely injured and helped them back to base.

"How are you holding up Uzumaki?" Second Captain Yamato asked, making his rounds through the crowded infirmary.

"I'm fine," He replied, wrapping up arm with white bandage. "Do you need me for something?"

"I'm sending you on a recon mission with Second Captain Neji Hyuuga, Sai, and Shikamaru Nara," He replied. "You leave tomorrow morning."

Naruto stood up to salute his superior. "Yes sir!"

Around 5 in the morning the four men were sent out into enemy territory- looking for traps, enemy base camps- anything that would help them keep their base safe and win this drawn out war. They walked through the sand for hours and didn't take a break until they arrived at the forest that the enemy was most likely hiding in.

"We've got a few hours walk before we find anything interesting," Shikamaru stated as he looked at his map. "If the intel we have is correct their main basses are here, here, and here." He took out a black sharpie and circled the areas of interest.

"What if they've moved?" Naruto questioned, staring at the map.

"That's the problem," Neji replied, also surveying the map. "We obviously need to be on guard at all the time, but we need to make sure they are still in one place. That way it's easier to make a direct attack."

"Sounds interesting," Sai commented with his easy, but fake smile on his pale face.

"Let's go, we're wasting day light," Neji said.

Naruto stood up from his crouched position, stretching his arms. "It's only like ten in the morning."

"Am I hearing insubordination, Uzumaki?"

"No, sir!" When Neji's back was turned Naruto smirked, he loved getting under Neji's skin.

Just as Naruto was readying his gun, everything went to hell again in a blink of an eye. Smoke filled the air, making his eyes and lungs burn. He heard Neji shouting something, but wasn't sure what it was. He heard someone fall to the ground. Lastly, he felt someone tackle him to the ground and put something over his head. He tried to reach for the pistol on his waist, but found his hands tied.

"This is squad three requesting back-" Neji's call over help over the radio was cut off. By what, Naruto wasn't sure. He had heard no gun shots, which was good, but there were other weapons used in war as well.

"Let me go now, dammit!" Naruto shouted, finding his voice again. He struggled and struggled, but found it was useless. He was carelessly dragged and throw into the back of what he guessed was a truck. He felt two more bodies get thrown beside him before the truck sped off. Clutching his hands in anger the question that ran through his mind was: who was left behind?

* * *

She hadn't heard from him in two weeks. It was going on a month and a half since his departure and knew he was busy; but she still missed the sound of his voice. She missed being held at night; she missed having someone to eat dinner with; she missed not being scared when she turned on the news.

"Sakura, do you work at the hospital tonight?" Hinata questioned, looking at her tired friend.

"No, thank God," Sakura replied, tying her hair in a messy bun. "Ever since we hired more nurses I've been able to get more days off."

"That's good!" Hinata said. "You've looked really tired lately. Are you sleeping well?"

Sakura shrugged. "As well as I can I guess. I've been really…slow I guess you could say. My body just feels weak sometimes."

Hinata looked at her with concern. "Are you eating regularly?"

"Yeah, I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner so I don't know."

"Sakura, you don't think you're…you know…"

Sakura looked at her curiously. "Huh?"

"Pregnant?"

A chill went through Sakura's body. She never even thought of that as a possibility. "I don't think so. I really think I'm just stressed out."

"You should still take a test just to be sure though," Hinata replied.

"Y-yeah," Sakura said numbly. She loved babies, and she wanted kids of her own, but not now. Not when she was working two jobs with no husband to help her right now. She thought back to the last time she had sex with Naruto. Thinking about it, the symptoms could show up around this time, but Sakura would stay in denial until she knew for sure. She wasn't ready for a child, not when she was barley taking care of herself.

* * *

Author's Corner:

~So we found out who Akane's mother is and how the battlefield is treating Naruto

~Hmm..I wonder if Sakura is pregnant or not...hmmm


	8. Chapter 8: War

Warning/Disclaimer: No...I don't own Naruto. Slight language

Sorry for the wait, here ya go! ENJOY

* * *

Come What May

[War]

War…war never changes.

Whether it be on the battle field of war

Or battle field of life

War…war never changes

~Original piece

* * *

Naruto felt himself coming out of sleep- his eyes feeling heavy. His whole body hurt and he could barely sit up. Once he was able to gain his bearings he surveyed his surrounding- quickly finding he was locked in a cell. He crawled to the cell door, with some difficulty due to his hands being tied, and peered through the bars to scan the dimly lit hallway.

"Nara…Sai…Second Captain Hyuuga?" Naruto called softly. He heard shuffling from down the hall and hoped it was one of his crew.

"So you're up." A woman's voice reached Naruto's ears. He looked up at her piercing scarlet eyes that held no emotion. "It's about damn time." She looked to her side and nodded- a moment later another guard came and opened the cell door. The man- looking no older than twenty- with silver hair in a ponytail pulled Naruto roughly to his feet. He was dragged through hallways and corridors- people going by him in blurs. Finally, after feeling like he was going to topple over, he was pushed into a chair- his hands bound to the arms of it.

_They must have injected me with something for me to feel this out of it, _Naruto thought, struggling vainly against the zip ties.

"Naruto Uzumaki," The silver haired man started, gazing at a file in his hands. "Age 26, married to Sakura Uzumaki, no children, teacher at Konoha High School." The man's gaze turned to Naruto. "You lead an interesting life Uzumaki."

Naruto didn't reply, his eyes trained on the man in front of him. He was trained to not respond to any questions in the event of being held hostage. He would rather die than to leak information about his country- not that he knew that much to begin with. He was one of the lowest ranked soldiers, so he knew limited amounts vital information. _I can't be killed here though, _he reminded himself. _Sakura needs me…I need to get home to her. _

"Your records say you are an excellent marksman," The man continued to say. "By the looks of it, your higher-ups wonder why you don't enroll fulltime. I think they want you to do something bigger than the FCR."

Naruto continued to stare blankly. When was this man going to get to the point? Finally he did when he said: "It seems I have bored you. Let's get to the point shall we? It's simple really, you just tell me everything you know about what your base is planning and you might live for a little while longer."

"You're talkin' to the wrong guy," Naruto scoffed, twisting his wrist within the zip ties as his flesh started to bruise. "I'm not a captain you know."

"I'm sure you know something though," The man said, moving towards a table with objects Naruto could not see. He heard the clanging and ticking of metal and could only imagine what they could possibly be. "Or at least some vital military information."

"How the hell would I know anything?"

"Well, you are the son of the General Minato Namikaze," He replied. "A fine general he was back in the day. I've read up on him- he single handily raised the Fire Country military to the status it is now as the head General of Defense. Pity he took a bullet to the head."

Naruto could feel his blood run cold. He never knew his parents and he never heard anything like this from his aunt and uncle. His father was in the military? Not only that, he was head of defense? Why hadn't anyone told him that? He was told his parents died in a car accident- now he finds out his father was shot. If that was the case, then how did his mother die?

"By the looks of it you knew none of this," the man stated, gauging Naruto's reaction and expressions. "I guess you really don't have any valuable information. I figured since you were the son of a great general they would treat you like royalty and tell you any information you wanted." He sighed as if he had just wasted his time. "Oh well, guess I have another POW to play with."

_POW…that's what I am now? _Naruto asked himself as he was lead back to his cell. _This can't be happening…this can't be. _

"Kabuto, I didn't hear any screams this time. I'm sure this guy wasn't that easy to break," The same woman with scarlet eyes said, helping the man escort Naruto back to his cell.

Kabuto sighed, "He didn't know anything. But, I'm sure maybe I can get something- at least a password to the base doors or something."

Naruto was pushed into his cell, the door locking behind him. He glared up at his captives who simply smirked and walked away from him. _I need to get out…I can't be stuck in here forever. _He then felt his heart break at the thought of his wife getting a phone call from Kakashi or Itachi, _what are they going to tell Sakura? _

* * *

MIA…possibly will be missing forever…sorry for your loss…he was an excellent soldier. Sakura felt like she was dreaming. Her husband couldn't possibly be taken hostage- not when she had a child on the way. She refused to believe he was dead and did not make a move to start any funeral planning like one of the captain's suggested. If she didn't have a body to bury there would be no funeral arrangements.

She shakily went through her shift at the hospital until she was finally able to collapse onto her living room couch around nine that evening- tears running down her face. She wanted Naruto to hug, to kiss her and tell her everything would be alright- would she ever be able to hold him again? She gazed at their wedding photo that sat on a shelf over the TV. _If he's really gone, I won't marry again. No one could replace him, and I could never love anyone more then I love him, _she thought.

"_Our military is a joke…most of them don't come back…" _Sasuke's voice suddenly rang in her head. She squeezed her eyes shut trying to will his voice away. Naruto would come back…he had to for the sake of her sanity.

Her cellphone rang, and she was tempted to let it go to voicemail, but when she saw it was Scarlett she knew she had to answer. Her voice cracked when she answered: "Hello?"

"I'm here, buzz me up."

In a matter of a few minutes Scarlett was sitting next to Sakura on the couch- setting tissue boxes, chocolate, and an envelope on the coffee table. No words were said for almost an hour- only the sound of crying could be heard.

"Scarlett…" Sakura finally whispered. "I'm pregnant."

Scarlett's eyes widened before filling with sorrow, fresh tears running to her eyes. It would be Sakura's luck to find out her husband is MIA and she's pregnant. "Sakura…how far along are you?"

"I don't know…I just took the test today."

Scarlett sighed, trying to gather her thoughts. Though both of them could have a break down, she knew she had to be the stronger one until Sakura could get a handle on her emotions. "Do you want me to call Ino and Hinata tomorrow? I'm sure they'd want to know what's happening." Sakura nodded, feeling too exhausted to answer. "We'll call your parents soon after that."

Sakura nodded again before standing up and trudging to her bedroom, curling under the sheets with Naruto's army sweatshirt clutched in her hands. She heard Scarlett move around in the living room, turning off the lights before she laid down the couch. In the dark Sakura tried to imagine Naruto next to her, finding some comfort in it. He was alive, she was almost positive, Naruto didn't just give up- he was a fighter.

_He'll come home and we'll raise our child together, _she thought. _He has to come home…_

* * *

Naruto was hungry and cold. He kept himself in the corner of his cell, clutching a small picture of Sakura in his hands. He had no sense of time and no way to tell where the rest of his squad was. As he was about to doze off he heard the door at the end of the hall slam open.

"5, 53, 36!" He heard a voice that sounded like Sai's. He shoved the picture back into his uniform and moved towards the door while deciphering the code Sai just shouted. 'There were torcher devices and the enemy was going to toy with them' is what he had gathered so far. "26-!"

A gun shot ran throughout the small space. Naruto's eyes widened as he watched Sai's body fall to the floor in a heap- blood pooling around his head. Naruto clutched the bars of his cell and tried to break them in pure anger and agony. Sai was his comrade, his friend, and someone he trusted. How was it possibly for someone so important to suddenly be ripped away?

"Who the hell did that?" He shouted.

"I did," Kabuto replied, placing his gun back in his holster. Kabuto watched Naruto shake in anger with amusement. "Your time will come too, don't worry."

Kabuto walked away, leaving Naruto to stare at the body of his comrade. Naruto stumbled away from the bars and back to his corner where he continued to stare at the body shakily. Why did Sai try to run? He should have known he would have had a better chance surviving if had stayed put.

Naruto buried his head into his arms, unable to look at Sai anymore. "Kabuto, you bastard, the least you could have done was close his eyes…"

* * *

Author's Corner:

~Just for reference: POW= Prisoner of War; MIA= Missing in Action; FCR= Fire Country Reserves

~I've seen some reviews about the length of the chapters and here's the run done: Each chapter is over 1,000 words- the average usually 1,500 words. Each chapter usually contains a certain issue or subject within the whole story. There is a chapter with 2,000 words and one I think with 3,000 however those are rare and usually contain a bigger issue.

~Thanks to all who have reviewed and reading this story!


	9. Chapter 9: Good Man

Warning/Disclaimer: No...I don't own Naruto. Slight language

And exactly a month late- an update! ENJOY!

* * *

Come What May

[Good Man]

Oh baby if the sun comes up

And you're not home, I'll be strong

If you're not beside me I'll do my best to carry on  
I'll tell the kids about you when they're old enough to understand

I'll tell them that their daddy was a good man

~Good Man by India Arie

* * *

Sakura had gone through her day in a haze- going to work at the school, having lunch with Scarlett, Ino, and Hinata; then going to work at the hospital. When she returned home she called her parents- her mother wanted Sakura to begin making funeral arrangements, her father on the other hand wanted Sakura to do what she thought was best.

"I refuse to make funeral arrangements until I have a body to burry," Sakura had told her mother bluntly- her filter long gone. "I'll be damn if I make myself even more upset by planning a funeral then find out he's alive and well. That's one emotional roller coaster I don't need to be on."

"But Sakura, at least give it some thought," Her mother replied. Sakura could tell by her tone that Mrs. Haruno was frowning worriedly. "What has his Uncle and Aunt said?"

"Scarlett said that they agree that we should wait until it is confirmed that he's dead until we begin arranging a funeral."

Sakura eventually gave up reason with her mother after a while and hung up on her. She knew her mother meant well, but she just couldn't think about planning a funeral for her husband. _I'll have to mention the pregnancy later…_She thought, realizing she forgot to tell her parents the news.

With a heavy sigh she leaned back on the couch- glancing around her lonely apartment. Her eyes soon landed to a white envelope on the coffee table- vaguely remembering that Scarlett had set it there the night before. Upon opening it and skimming its contents Sakura dropped the documents as if they were on fire. It was Naruto's will- what he wanted Sakura and his family to do after he passed away. Why had the military sent her this? He hadn't been confirmed dead yet! She shoved the will back into the envelope before throwing it across the room. _I'm not changing my mind. _She thought, _He's alive somewhere and he'll find a way home._

But, Sakura was afraid. Afraid that no matter how much she hoped and prayed that Naruto would come back, she would still get a phone call telling her they found his body and that he was dead. It petrified her that she would have to show her future son or daughter pictures of a father that would never be able to raise them.

* * *

Akane skipped down the halls of the school humming a tune she heard the radio that morning. She was on her way to the nurse's office to take her medication (which in her opinion she felt she didn't need).

"Miss. Sakura!" She called, peeking into the room.

Sakura looked up from her paper work to smile at the child. "Hi sweetie. I have your medicine right here."

Akane moved towards the pink haired nurse, taking the cup of water and pill she was given. After taking the medicine she watched curiously as Sakura put the bottle of pills away.

"Did you need something else?" Sakura asked.

The young Uchiha bit her lip, glancing around the office nervously before bringing her gaze back to the woman in front of her. "Miss. Sakura…am I allowed to ask you questions?"

Sakura blinked in surprise. "Of course you are! What would you like to ask me?"

"Well…in a few days my class is putting on a play and we're allowed to bring in our parents," She began, fiddling with the lace on her dress. "I asked Daddy if he could come and he said he was busy that day so…I was wondering if you would be able to come."

Sakura felt her heart ache for the girl- it must be hard for her to have a busy father and no mother to support her. She smile gently at the young Uchiha and patted her head lovingly. "I'd love to come Akane."

A smile spread across Akane's whole face. "Thank you Ms. Sakura!"

Sakura watched as the girl skipped happily out of her office- probably to brag to her friends how the school nurse was coming to their class play specifically to watch her.

"That was kind of you Sakura," Hinata commented, coming into the office. She had been standing at the doorway casually listening (eavesdropping really) to the conversation.

"I couldn't just tell her no," Sakura replied, shuffling papers around. "And talking to her eases my mind a bit. She doesn't come to me with drama and complaints like so many others do. All she wants is mother-like attention."

Hinata nodded in understanding. "She is a cute kid. It's hard to believe she's Sasuke's daughter."

"It really is. I forget sometimes."

Hinata glanced away from her friend, wondering if she should ask the question on her mind. She checked on Sakura almost every other day and she knew her friend hated when people worried over her. "Sakura…how are you today? I have you seen a doctor yet?"

Sakura sighed. "I see a doctor today…and I'm fine. I mean, it still hurts every time I go home and realize I have no clue when he'll come back. It was easier to deal with when I knew there was a set day to expect him- now I don't know any more."

Hinata sent her friend a gentle smile. "Naruto has never been one to give up easily has he? I'm sure he won't go down without a fight. You never know, he could free himself soon." She reached over and patted Sakura's shoulder, saying: "You also need to take care of yourself and the baby."

Sakura sighed, wishing she could put more faith in her husband's abilities. She was just so worried about him. "Yeah…I know."

* * *

Naruto clutched to the picture of his wife as if it was his life line- essentially it was. Without the small picture of Sakura he would have given up by now. He was malnourished and suffering from sleep deprivation- not because the enemy forced him to stay awake, but because he was afraid to sleep. He was afraid they would harm him in his sleep, but after hours upon hours of fighting sleep he would finally give in, only to wake up about three hours later to repeat the cycle.

"_I love you, I'll be waiting." _He could hear Sakura say. He wanted to be with her, not in this dusty cell. His eyes strayed to the spot where Sai had been shot- blood stained on the floor. He didn't bother wondering what happened to his friend's body- he figured it was better not to know.

Footsteps pattered down the hallway until Kabuto appeared in front of his cell, swiftly unlocking the door saying: "Come on Uzumaki, you're moving cells and getting a shower- you stink."

"That's what happens when you get stuck in a cell for days on end and forced to use the bathroom in a corner," Naruto muttered, struggling to stand up. He pushed himself to stand on his two feet- refusing to give Kabuto the satisfaction of seeing just how undernourished and weak he was.

Kabuto zip tied his hands and pushed him down the hallways, leading him through the base until he was found himself in a bathroom. The small room held a toilet and a shower- Naruto never knew he could be so happy seeing these two objects.

"You have ten minutes," Kabuto said, shoving Naruto inside. He placed a t-shirt and sweatpants on the counter before locking Naruto in the room.

First, Naruto scanned for any way out- an air vent could even pose as an escape route. Unfortunately, there was none. With a heavy sigh, he stripped and got in the shower, not even complaining that the water was freezing cold. Dirt and blood slid off his body- wounds and sours stinging as the water hit them. After the first time in Kabuto's lab, Naruto had been back five other times. Each time was a new test; whether it is being inject with something that made him dizzy, or being put to a physical test even though he didn't have the energy. Each time he went Kabuto became increasingly irritated from Naruto's lack of response.

"What? No wince of pain or questions of if you can eat more than bread and water?" Kabuto had taunted him once. Naruto simply gave him a blank stare back, not really even registering what the silver haired man had said. "You'll be interesting to break. It might take time, but everyone cracks eventually."

_Challenge accepted, _Naruto had thought. _You think I'll crack? Never._

After Naruto was done showering, using the toilet, and changing, he felt a little better. He was still sore, but at least he was clean. Kabuto soon came; zip tied his hands again, and took him to his new cell. To Naruto's surprise, the cell was actually more like a log cabin. There were about five rows of five in the large fenced field full of prisoners walking aimlessly around or talking amongst each other. As Kabuto pushed Naruto down the rows the grounds soon became quiet, everyone wondering where Kabuto was taking Naruto and who he was going to take back to the main base.

"Here's your new home," Kabuto said with fake warmth. "I'll see you soon." He undid Naruto's zip ties and left him at the door of his cabin. "Oh and curfew is at six, try not to be found outside after the designated time."

Naruto watched Kabuto walk twenty feet away from him, snatch up another prisoner and dragged the poor man back to the main building.

"Poor guy probably isn't coming back," A voice said from beside him.

Naruto jerked back a bit and looked at the entrance of the cabin. In the door way was the brightest, yet laziest person he knew. "N-Nara?"

Shikamaru gave the blond a pained smile, a fresh cut running down his right cheek. "Welcome to Camp 16, Uzumaki."

* * *

[Author's Corner]

~Thanks for reading! Leave all thoughts/comments/critiques in a review!

~Also I have a new Naruto fic out so if you have nothing to do you should go take a peak! (shamelessly advertising) It's OC-centric with Cannon Character, but I can promise there aren't mary-sues (and if there are for some reason...then you can flame me all you want)

~Anywho, have a great day!


	10. Chapter 10: Unknown Soldier

Warning/Disclaimer: No...I don't own Naruto. Language and violence

* * *

Come What May

[Unknown Soldier]

Full of fear, ever clear I'll be here, fighting forever

Curious, venomous

You'll find me climbing to heaven

Never mind, turn back time

You'll be fine, I will get left behind

~Unknown Soldier by Breaking Benjamin

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha was a busy man. He had clients to defend, paper work to fill out, and bills to pay. On top of that he had another mouth to feed- his daughter. He had been told many times in his life not to become a father- it really wasn't his plan to become one- but when Akane came around it was one of the best things to happen to him.

With a sigh he decided to take a short break from his paper work to scroll through the news section of his tablet. He had gone to work an hour and a half early just to finish up a case so he could hopefully make it to his daughter's performance.

"Prisoners of war still not found," He murmured. Though he was not a fan of the military the article for some reason peaked his interest. Also, he hadn't talked to his brother in a while- maybe the article would tell him the idiot got captured. "Recently put on the missing in action list…Shikamaru Nara…Sai last name unknown…Naruto Uzumaki…Uzumaki?"

Sasuke read the whole article, a frown adorning his face. Why did he feel so concerned? Naruto should have known the risks of going into the military. No, it wasn't Naruto he was worried about, he quickly realized, it was Sakura- the wife Naruto left behind. Sasuke shut down his tablet and busied his mind with work- he couldn't deal with the problems of others, which was ironic because that's how he made a living.

Hours later, Sasuke barely made it out of his office in time. He practically sprinted to his car, trying to get on the road as quickly as possible only to be caught in traffic. He was tempted to just get out of his car and walk, but knew he would never make it on foot either. By time he made inside of the school building the play and school day was over- the bell mockingly ringing just as he had got out of his car.

_Oh for the love of God, _He groaned inwardly. He walked calmly into the building, weaving through parents and students. First, he checked the classroom and found it empty. Next, he checked the after school day care, however the woman said she had not seen Akane as of yet. With a sigh he checked the last place Akane could be- the nurse's office. He crossed the school and sure enough his daughter sat with the pink haired nurse- talking animatedly about a show she had watched earlier that week.

"Akane," He called, effectively bringing the attention to him.

"Daddy, you're here early," Akane commented, rushing over to her father. She reached up to hug his waist, looking up at him with disappointment. "You missed the performance though…"

"I know, I'm sorry. I really wanted to see it," Sasuke said, running a hand through her hair. "Can I make it up to you by taking you out for ice cream?"

Akane hummed in thought, before smiling up at her father. "I guess so."

"I videotaped it for you," Sakura suddenly said, taking her phone out of her pocket. "I figured you'd want to see it."

"You went to her play?" Sasuke asked, a rare look of shock on his face.

"She asked me to and I was more than happy to go," She replied casually. "I'll email it to you. What's your email?"

Sasuke gave her his business email, looking at her curiously. He could see beneath the carefree look she tried to keep on her face that she was depressed. He looked down at his daughter and tapped her head to gain her attention, saying: "Go make sure you have all your stuff then come back, okay?"

"Okay Daddy!" Akane replied, before rushing off.

Sakura looked at him curiously, wondering what he was planning. "What do you want?"

Sasuke didn't really want to think about how much her cold words stung. "Thanks for video tapping her play."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "A thank you? From you? Are you sick Sasuke?"

Sasuke scowled, stuffing his hands in his pockets- what was with her? When he was cold and insensitive she got mad and when he tried to be even a little nice she looked at him as if he were a criminal. He couldn't win. Suddenly he found himself saying: "I read an article today and found out your husband has gone MIA…a prisoner of war actually."

Sakura's eyes darkened. "That's none of your concern. I don't care what you have to say."

Sasuke shrugged. "All I was going to say was I hope he comes home safe."

Sakura glared up at him. "You don't mean that."

Sasuke sighed inwardly, thinking to himself: _I really can't win, can I? _Though he would never admit it, (there were a lot of things he would never admit) he knew he was an ass to Sakura and clichély he realized after having Akane and having Karin abandon them how much Sakura meant to him. But, as of that moment, he refused to let her know that, instead he tried to make amends through Akane. "Hn."

He watched as her face flushed a deep red. She stood up, prepared to rip him a new one, but paused when Akane rushed back into the room. Sakura quickly composed herself, flashing the girl a smile.

"I'm ready now! Can we get ice cream?" Akane asked, tugging on Sasuke's arm.

"Sure," He replied. He turned his attention back to the woman he had just angered. "Thanks again."

"Can Miss. Sakura come too?" Akane asked, tilting her head back and forth to look at the two adults.

Sasuke looked at Sakura with indifference. He didn't really care if she decided to come or not- though he wouldn't mind if she said yes. Which she didn't. She told Akane in a gentle voice that she was expected at her second job soon. He watched as Akane gave Sakura a quick hug before urging him out of the office- shouting something about wanting three scoops of strawberry ice cream.

He wanted to keep telling himself that he didn't care about Sakura. It had been years since the two had an actual conversation. Sure, he had told her that he expected her to come back after they broke up…and that Akane needed a mother; the latter could have been taken as a general statement right?

_No, _He thought, glancing back at the irritated woman. _Akane does need someone to look up to. I guess I should be thankful that she was able to bond with Sakura and not someone I knew nothing about. _He sighed, letting his daughter drag him to the parking lot, chattering on about how the play had gone. _But still…I guess I'm just looking for normalcy. Even if it was years ago, Sakura used to be a constant in my life. That's what it is. I'm looking for consistency- I couldn't possibly still care about her. _

* * *

The weeks slowly went on in Camp 16. Shikamaru had informed Naruto that Camp 16 was Kabuto's toy- he could do whatever he wanted with the prisoners here. He told him that Fire Country would not be looking for them for another few months- maybe not until after the war; there was just too much turmoil on the battlefield to look for the fallen.

During Naruto's time in the camp- between malnourishment, Kabuto's twisted games, and over all stress- he became insomniac. Nightmare plagued him every night, making him afraid to fall asleep.

"Do you think we'll last long enough for them to come and save us?" Naruto had asked. Both Shikamaru and he knew they weren't getting any sleep that night.

"Only if we fight for our lives," Shikamaru had replied.

"Think we have a chance of escaping?"

"Maybe, I've tried to strategize, however the chances of surviving an escape attempt are slim."

"We have to try though."

"Well…I guess I do have two plans."

The plan took them awhile to put into action. They needed to watch the patterns of the guards that patrolled the area at night, as well as keep a sharp eye out for whenever Kabuto was around. They also needed to covertly observe the fence around them- looking for any flaws. Upon finding none, they knew they needed to go with the second plan that Shikamaru had thought up- stealing the guards' uniforms. Finally, three weeks later on a moonlit night, their plan was ready to put into action.

"Shouldn't we bring others with us?" Naruto asked, pulling a hoodie he had found over his head. "I mean…I'm sure others want to escape too."

"No," Shikamaru replied. "It's too risky bringing others with us."

Naruto nodded, fully ready to head out, before a thought stopped him. He had held off from asking the question in his mind for a while in fear of the answer, but he had to ask now that they were attempting to escape. "Nara…what happened to Hyuuga?"

Shikamaru shrugged, a pained look spreading across his features. "I don't think he ever made it here. I only felt them put you and Sai on the truck. My guess is that they left him behind, because they knew that the biggest disgrace for a captain is to lose his men under his watch." He peaked out the window to check where the guards were. "Did Sai…is he still inside?"

Naruto trembled at the memory of watching his friend fall in front of him. "No."

Shikamaru stayed silent, not knowing what to say. He instead, signaled Naruto to get ready, slowly opening the door to their cabin. The two soldiers crept outside, quickly ducking in between the cabins. They waited for about ten minutes until they heard the footsteps of two guards- they always traveled in pairs. In swift and quiet movements, Naruto and Shikamaru crept behind the two guards- putting them into a choke hold and slowly strangling them until a small pop was heard from their necks.

Dragging the bodies away from sight of anyone looking, the two quickly stripped the guards, pulling their clothes onto their bodies. They went through the process of checking the weapons the guards had and making sure they had a good amount of ammo. Once satisfied, the two moved calmly through the compound, retracing their steps to the exit of the fenced area.

"You two are already off duty?" A fellow guard asked when the two impersonators entered the guard shack. The only way to get to the exit gate was to go through the guard shack.

"Yep," Shikamaru replied, pulling out a paper from his pocket. The paper contained the time the guard was allowed to leave the base. "We're going to head out to the town nearby and get drinks."

The guard scowled in jealousy. "Lucky, I've got another four hours. Have fun."

And just like that, Naruto and Shikamaru were headed out of the gates- freedom just a few feet away from them. They walked in even steps, knowing if they seemed too rushed they would look suspicious. It was a stroke of luck that the base was so big that the guards' hardy knew each other and that the guards never bothered to memorize what each prisoner looked like.

"Shikamaru…" Naruto whispered, as they walked away from the compound. He felt like he could cry, clutching Sakura's picture tightly in his right hand. "We're…we're free."

And just then, the unexpected happened. An alarm, high pitched and soul shattering, rang through the air. They turned around in what felt like slow motion, watching a few guards running out of the guard shack.

"Stop them!" They heard Kabuto shout from somewhere near the gate.

The two Fire Country soldiers began sprinting towards the forested area near them, trying to ignore the gun shots that were being fired at them. However, it proved taxing because of their lack of nutrition- having used much of their energy strangling the guards.

"Shit!"

Naruto whipped his head around to watch in terror as Shikamaru fell to the ground- blood pooling out of leg. Naruto ignored the gun fire around him and forced Shikamaru to his feet- putting one of his comrade's arms around his neck and forcing Shikamaru to keep up on one foot.

"Leave me behind!" Shikamaru shouted in pain, his leg burning.

"Why the hell would I do that? I'm not leaving without you!"

"Save yourself, I'm just slowing you down!"

"I'm not leaving you behind!" Naruto continued to argue, ducking into the forest. He made zigzag paths, never looking back to see if the guards were following them though he did notice that the barrage of gun fire had stopped.

Naruto didn't know how far they had hobbled into the forest or where the guards were, but he knew he needed to get them somewhere safe and get Shikamaru medical attention. He finally decided to stop once he felt they were a good distance away. The blond pulled off the top of the Sound guard's uniform-revealing the hoodie underneath- and began tearing the uniform into long pieces- wrapping it around Shikamaru's wound.

"You should have left me," Shikamaru grunted in pain. "You could have gotten a lot farther."

Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "Nara, you're my comrade. That means that you don't get left behind." he then let out a hollow chuckle. "Besides, I already lost a comrade while I was in that hell hole. I don't think I could take loosing another."

* * *

[Author's Corner]

~What is this? A quick update? Yeah, it happens sometimes

~I honestly had fun and struggled at the same time writing for Sasuke. It was a lot easier writing an angry and irritated Sakura then a confused, cold yet warm hearted Sasuke...that's halfly why I wrote in is point of view, thought I'd give myself a challenge. Sasuke pride won't let him admit that he cares for Sakura, yet he know how much Akane looks up to Sakura so he can't just ignore Sakura completely, thus he makes up excuses why he couldn't possibly care about Sakura. Eh, so all in all he's not a total a-hole...just mostly one

~Any who, hope all who read enjoyed!


	11. Chapter 11: Gunslinger

Warning/Disclaimer: No...I don't own Naruto

* * *

Come What May

[Gunslinger]

Yeah, you've been alone

I've been gone for far too long

But with all we've been through

After all this time I'm coming home to you

~Gunslinger by Avenged Sevenfold

* * *

**He felt sick. He felt disgusting. He felt…violated. He opened his mouth to scream out for help, begging for someone to make Kabuto stop jamming needles into his body, but not even a yelp escaped from his throat. He found himself muted, thrashing in physical and mental pain. **_**Stop…Stop...STOP!**_

Naruto's eyes flew open, sweat trickling down his face. His blue eyes darted from right to left, trying to remember where he was. A relived sigh soon slipped past his lips- he was safe at base. It took two days of wondering through a forest, dodging enemies, until they finally flagged down a helicopter that brought them back to their base. For the first time in months he was finally able to lie down on a comfortable bed. To his dismay though, he still suffered from nightmares and he prayed that he would soon be able to regain a normal sleep cycle.

"How are you feeling this morning, Uzumaki?" A nurse asked, checking his IV drip.

"Sore for the most part," He replied, not wanting to delve any further from his physical pain.

The nurse looked at him skeptically, but said nothing. She knew he was more than sore, but knew that most soldiers didn't opening express their pain.

"How's Nara?" Naruto asked, worried about his wounded friend.

"Recovering from surgery," The nurse replied, writing on his chart. "They removed the bullet from his leg safely."

_Good, one less thing to think about, _Naruto thought, leaning back on his pillow. "When can I leave?"

"That's something I can't answer. The head doctor will be around soon to give you a final report," She replied.

Once she was gone, Naruto was left to his thoughts again. He wanted nothing more than to go home and forget he was ever deployed. He wanted to be in his classroom with the teens that looked up to him. His day dreaming was interrupted by the door of his small room sliding open- Kakashi Hatake and Neji Hyuuga walking in with a thick bundle of letters in each of their hands.

"Those are a lot of letter," Naruto commented with a small smile. The letters were from various people that were close to him- his wife, his students, his family. It almost brought tears to his eyes as he began to read through the letters. 'The sub sucks! Come back ASAP!' was scrawled across a piece of paper by his favorite student Konohamaru (he knew he wasn't supposed to have favorites but he couldn't help it- the kid was hilarious). "Have they informed Sakura that I'm not dead?"

"Yes they have. Luckily she had not spent any money on funeral preparations," Kakashi replied.

Naruto didn't know what to think about what Kakashi had told him. Had Sakura somehow known he was alive? Or was she simply in denial? Either way he felt relieved that his wife hadn't given up on him. He wanted to get home to her as soon as possible.

"I'm curious Uzumaki," Kakashi began, helping Naruto move his letters to the night stand. "I know it's soon but…are you going to leave the military?"

Naruto sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm not sure…"

"Take your time. There's no hurry for you to decide," Kakashi replied. He stood up along with Neji. "We will take our leave now. Rest up Uzumaki."

Naruto saluted his superiors, watching them head towards the door.

"Uzumaki," Neji started, pausing at the door. "As your captain I apologize for letting this happen to you."

Naruto shook his head. "It's not your fault. There was nothing you could have done."

"You were still under my command, so the blame is on me."

"Well, don't let it keep you up at night. I don't blame you."

Neji's clear eyes reflected his relief before he took his leave- leaving Naruto alone. A chill went up his spine at the thought of being by himself; the feeling of not knowing when he would have contact with someone- anyone. His mind went back to his cell with the dampness that always hung in the air and the distant cries from other inmates. He didn't notice the pace of his heart speed up or this breaths quickening and becoming shallow. He wasn't safe back at his base camp; he was behind enemy lines with Kabuto setting up his next round of experiments. Suddenly he felt a cool hand on his arm and a voice calling his name repeatedly- effectively jolting him out of his trance.

A busty blond stared down at him with piercing brown eye, waiting for him to catch his breath. She busied herself by checking his vitals and making sure his IV drip was full.

"Who are you?" Naruto finally questioned after five minutes. His breathing returned to normal as did his heat rate when he finally grasped onto the fact that he was safe.

"Head medic of this base and the military, Tsunade," She replied, slipping her hands into the pockets of her white coat. "Tell me Uzumaki…where were you just now?"

He confused for a second, what did she mean? He was on the hospital wing of the base of course; but his mind quickly caught onto what she really meant. Yes, he was physically in the hospital; however his mind was miles away into enemy territory. "I was…I was back in the cell I was kept in while I was I prisoner."

Tsunade pulled a chair from the corner over to his bed side, sitting down with her eyes focused on him. "What triggered this memory?" She noticed him flinch and his eyes harden. "Uzumaki, I'm not doing this to be nosey, I'm doing this because you could- and probably will, have lasting mental scars. The quicker we know what your triggers are the faster I can help you learn how to cope with them."

Naruto frowned and looked away from her. He didn't want to break down and tell her everything that was on his mind and how he felt. All he wanted was for her to clear him to go home. He wanted normalcy back- his wife, his pesky high school students, his family.

"The faster we get through the process the faster you can go home to your wife. I can already tell you have post-traumatic stress disorder- we just need to help you deal with it. You wouldn't want to harm your wife during one of your episodes would you? It's been done before, by many soldiers who have gone home not properly treated. They get cleared to go home because their physical injuries are healed, but their mind was still very damaged. They go into a trance, think their wives or children are the enemy, and accidents happen," Tsunade explained.

Naruto's heart clenched at the thought. He couldn't fathom putting Sakura in danger like that. He didn't realize how serious of a problem his mental scars could be. He knew he would have trouble sleeping and nightmares here and there, but hurting Sakura? He couldn't do it. So he gave in and told her the reason for his sudden vision. He told her about the ambush, the cell, the experiments- everything. The blond doctor stayed silent throughout his story, making mental notes.

"Solitude, confined spaces, and possibly gun fire are triggers for you. You most likely can't avoid these triggers however you can learn to control your reaction to them. The more you learn to cope the more your mind will heal and the less dangerous you will be."

"Am I really that dangerous?" Naruto questioned wearily.

"Honestly, no. You don't have temper issues like many other soldiers I have tried to counsel and your body locks down while you're having a vision instead of reacting to it which means you won't suddenly start throwing punches or running," Tsunade explained. "However, I'm not going to say it's not possible. I would like to observe you more."

"For how long?"

"As long as needed, I control if you get discarded or not."

"But my wife. I need to see her soon," Naruto tried to explain, cursing inwardly at caving in and telling the woman about his time in the internment camp.

Tsunade's hard, no nonsense expression softened. "You think I wouldn't let you speak to her? That would do much more harm than good. You will be able to have contact with her many times a week. She can even visit you when I transfer you off the base and closer to your home."

"Am I going to an insane asylum or something?"

Tsunade shook her head. "Let me continue to explain. You will be taken off base to Soldier House, a place where soldiers can safely heal their minds and bodies without the risks of harming others or themselves. When I'm not here at this base, I am personally evaluating and helping the soldiers that are housed there. Many are able to check out a month after they arrive, however in serious cases it could be almost a year until their minds heal. Only time will tell how long you will be in there, however you must be honest with yourself. I understand you want to see your wife, but you need to heal your mind beforehand."

Naruto shoulders hunched from the sudden information he was given. He didn't want to go to Soldier House; he simply wanted to be with Sakura- was that so hard? But, was it worth convincing Tsunade, a highly qualified doctor, that he was mentally fine? What if his body didn't lock down during a sudden vision and he did scare, or worse, hurt his wife? What if the episode occurred while he was at work?

"Alright," He finally said, clutching the white sheets in his sweaty hands. "I'll go and get better…so I can go home."

A small smile graced the doctor's face. "Good, thank you for making it easier on me."

"Well, did I have the choice to say no?" He asked curiously.

Tsunade shrugged. "Well, you could have opted to challenge my decision by asking another high rank military doctor to evaluate you; however that could take weeks to go through- weeks you could have spent getting better."

Naruto silently agreed with her- he'd rather get better. Another question suddenly came to mind, a question he should have asked at the beginning of their conversation an hour ago: "Does my wife know I am going to Solider House?"

"Yes, she will be there to greet you next week when you move there. Until then," She stood up, retrieved the cordless phone on the other side of the room, and handed it to Naruto. "Give her a call. I'm sure she would love to hear your voice." She smiled as unshed tears began to fill Naruto's blue eyes. "I'll be back later so you can answer any other questions you have."

Naruto barely heard her after she had given him the phone, hell he didn't even hear her leave the room. His fingers shook as he dialed her cellphone number.

"Sakura Uzumaki speaking," She answered professionally.

"S-Sakura," He whispered. "Babe, it's me."

Silence went through the phone for a moment, before he could hear sniffling and a muffled sob. "Naruto?"

He smiled, clutching the phone in one hand and her picture in her picture in the other. "Sakura, I love you."

For so many months Sakura wanted to hear him say that phrase to her. "I love you too! I miss you so much, please come back, I have so much to tell you!"

Tears of happiness rolled down his face, but he didn't bother to brush them away. He finally heard the voice he had been dying to hear. "I can't wait to see you, next week."

Sakura said other things along the lines of "I love you so much" and "We'll get through this" however her sobbing made the sentences run together. Naruto didn't care though- he just sat back and listened to the sound of his wife's voice.

* * *

[Author's Corner]

~Yep...that happened...at freakin 3 in the morning what the eff? And I do think this is a pretty decent sized chapter.

~Anywho, I hope all you read enjoyed this latest installment and I really hope to get another chapter out in the next week or two (no promises...just a hope), because guess what guys...I GO TO COLLEGE IN A LITTLE OVER TWO WEEKS! And then you can see my excuses of homework, classes, and such -_-'. But, I really hope I can get organized and set times to work on fanfiction.

~Well, enough about my boring life, have a cookie and a nice day (or night...what ever).


	12. Chapter 12: Counting Stars

Come What May

[Counting Stars]

Lately I been, I been losing sleep  
Dreaming about the things that we could be  
But baby I been, I been prayin' hard  
Said no more counting dollars  
We'll be counting stars

~Counting Stars by OneRepublic

* * *

Warning/Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Naruto and slight language

* * *

The week crawled by for Sakura, her days becoming increasingly slow. She found herself looking at the calendar in the nurses' office wistfully- repeatedly counting down the days until she would see Naruto. She would trace patterns gently on her growing stomach- wondering what it was going to be like raising her child with her husband.

"Sakura I know you don't want to hear this," Ino began. The two met for lunch at a local restaurant. "But you need to be prepared…just in case Naruto isn't the same as he was before he left."

"I know that. I've already done the research about what could happen to a soldier when they get back from war. I was told that Naruto has post-traumatic stress disorder," Sakura explained. "I just…I just want to see his face. Even if he is different, we'll get through it."

Ino leaned over and patted her friend's arm. "I'll be here if you need me. You know that right?"

A smile tugged at Sakura's lips. "Of course."

Ino grinned back, leaning back in her chair. "So, will your parents be coming down anytime soon to visit you and Naruto?"

Sakura shrugged, grateful for the change in topic. "Maybe; I think they'll be down when I have the baby." Sakura's parents lived in the upper suburbs of Konoha and rarely came down to the city. They preferred to stay away from the busily crowds that littered the city. "Besides, you know how it gets when my mom comes down. Things can get ugly quick even if I don't mean them too."

"True, true…" Ino sighed. "Oh yeah! I've been meaning to ask you- what do you think you'll name your kid?"

"Well I wanted to talk it over with Naruto first," Sakura replied. "I really like the name Kiyoko for a girl and Leo for a boy," she then let out a short laugh. "Though, I wouldn't be surprised if Naruto wanted to name our son Minato."

"Minato…is that his father's name?"

Sakura nodded. "And his mother's name is Kushina. Both are good names, I just wanted to think of some others."

"If you had a daughter you could name her Ino!"

"Sorry, I already told Scarlett that I wouldn't be naming my children after my friends."

"Aw!" Ino whined. "Come on please!"

Sakura laughed, "No!"

"What about as a middle name?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and to appease her friend she said: "I'll give it some consideration."

Ino grinned and decided it was better than nothing.

* * *

Today was finally the day- he would finally be able to see his wife. He had waited for what felt like years for this day and it had finally came. He tried his best to look somewhat presentable for his wife- ironing the white shirt and pants he was given, combing his hair. After he finished getting dressed, he walked out of his room and down a few hallways. The building was huge, filled with single and double rooms for patients (he was lucky enough to get a single- Shikamaru on the other hand was forced into a double), work out rooms, doctors' offices- anything a recovering soldier could ever need.

He finally arrived at the door he wanted and gave it three short taps.

"Who is it?" A voiced shouted for the other side.

"Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Come in!"

Naruto opened the door of the office and found an irritated Tsunade with piles of paper work around her. "You wanted to see me?"

Tsunade gestured for him to take a seat before replying: "Yes. As you know your wife will be here in about an hour. I just wanted to ask you how you are feeling. Do you feel like you're about to have an attack- do you feel stressed?"

Naruto pondered on her question, before shaking his head. "No I feel fine. I just really want to see her."

"Understandable," She replied, writing a few things on his file.

Naruto talked to Tsunade until they got a call from the front desk announcing Sakura's arrival. He felt himself getting jittery as he walked to the room where he would see his wife.

"Alright Uzumaki, it's noon and visiting hours end at six so you have a while. Come to my office after she leaves, okay?"

"Will do."

He took a deep breath before opening the door to the room. He spotted her staring out the window with her back towards him- her pink hair braided and draped over her shoulder.

"Sakura…" She turned to him, a smile adorning her face. In his eyes she looked the same, but only for a second. He then noticed how huge her stomach had become. "Are you…?"

Sakura's smile grew as she tried to walk over to him a quickly as possible. He soon found his arms around her enlarged waist and her arms around his neck- her face buried in his shoulder.

"I missed you so much," She whispered, taking in his scent.

Naruto dropped his forehead onto her head, her soft hair brushing against his cheek. "I missed you too. Every second I was there I missed you."

He held her for a long time. He didn't know how long, but he really didn't care. He was slightly disappointed when she pulled away, but he was distracted by her stomach again.

"As you can see we're expecting a child," She grinned, unshed tears in the corners in her eyes. "I don't know the gender because I wanted to be surprised."

Naruto wasn't quite sure what to say. He was happy- extremely happy- but he was afraid to reach out and touch her stomach. He held his hand out to do so, but stop short- unsure how delicate her stomach would be.

Sakura looked at him confused for a moment, before taking his hand and placing it on her stomach. "You can touch my stomach, it's fine!"

Naruto looked at her unsurely for a second before looking back at the growing child- running his fingers along her stomach cautiously. He was surprised when he felt pressure on his hand. "He kicked!"

Sakura laughed at his surprised expression. "I know, I felt it. And we don't know the gender yet! It could be a girl!"

Naruto pouted. "I don't want to call my child an "it" though!"

"Well in a few more weeks you won't have to."

Naruto took his hand off her stomach to look back at the green eyes he missed so much. "Have you thought of a name?"

"A few," She replied. "I wanted to wait till you were here to help me pick one."

"Did…did you really think I'd come home?"

Sakura sighed. "I honestly didn't know what to think. All I know is that there was no body for me to bury, so to me you were alive somewhere." She placed her arms around her stomach protectively. "I also had to hold onto the thought that my child would have a father. I didn't want her…or him to look at pictures and wonder why they didn't have a father like other kids. I didn't want to imagine raising a child by myself…"

Naruto brushed his thumb across her face to wipe away a stray tear. He brought her close to him and kissed her forehead, her cheek, and then her lips. "I'm here now and we'll raise our child together, I promise."

They spent the rest of the day together- not wanting to be apart. Naruto took her to the food court for lunch before giving her a tour the facility. He introduced her to a few friends he had made, including Shikamaru who still hobbled around on crutches. Last, he introduced her to Tsunade.

"Thank you so much for helping my husband," Sakura smiled, shaking the blond woman's hand. "It means so much to me that he's in a place close to home where he can get better."

"It's no problem at all," Tsunade replied. "He's one of the most cooperative patients I've had in a while!"

"Really? Whenever he has to get a checkup, I'm always told he was a pain in the doctor's butt."

"Sakura!" Naruto whined.

Sakura giggled. "What? It's true."

Naruto tried to usher Sakura out quickly before the two could talk about him further, but he couldn't stop Tsunade from giving his wife her business card after Sakura mentioned she was curious about a nursing position at Solider House so she could drop one or both of her other jobs.

"Email me your resume and we can continue talking from there," Tsunade instructed before Naruto took Sakura by the hand and pulled her out of the office.

"What's the matter? Don't want me to tell your doctor embarrassing stories?" Sakura smirked.

Naruto pouted, "Maybe…"

They went back to his room and cuddled on his bed- talking about anything and everything. Sakura didn't push him to talk about his experiences behind enemy lines and let him babble on about his base and the funny things that had happened before "things went to shit". She laid beside him and listened, throwing in a comment every once and a while, but for the most part let him talk. She didn't mind- she missed hearing the sound of his voice. She knew he would eventually ask about anything she did while he was away, but until then she listened to his stories.

* * *

[Author's Corner]

~First chapter of my college career! I really did think I could post a chapter before I moved in but...that didn't happen...but I think I've figured out a pretty good schedule so I have time to write!

~I honestly have no clue what to name this child so if you have a good one just throw it in a review. I thought about Minato or Kushina, but both are is done so many times so I'm going with something original.

~Well, off to class! Have a good day!


End file.
